Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the world, after breast and lung cancer in women and lung and prostate cancer in men. Gastroenterology Specialist Dr. Murat Keskin gave information about the subject. Approximately 1 million people in the world are diagnosed with colon cancer every year. Colon cancer, which is equally common in men and women, has a 5-year survival rate of 90% when diagnosed at an early stage. However, only 37% of patients are diagnosed with early stage cancer. Therefore, it is very important to be informed about the symptoms of the disease and to have colon cancer screening. There are some risk factors for the development of the disease. The most important risk factor is age. Although it can also be seen in the younger age group, the biggest risk factor is being over 50 years old. More than 90% of patients are diagnosed over the age of 50. Having a history of polyps in the large intestine, having a family history of colon cancer, smoking, alcohol, a diet rich in animal fats and low in fiber, sedentary life, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease), having a history of colon cancer, Having had breast, ovarian and uterine cancer are other risk factors for the development of colon cancer. 90% of colon cancers develop from polyps. For this reason, every polyp detected must be examined pathologically and removed. Symptoms of the disease include rectal bleeding or blood in the stool, abdominal pain, anemia, unexplained weight loss, changes in defecation habits, that is, constipation, diarrhea or constipation-diarrhea attacks, and thinning of the stool thickness. The most important method for early diagnosis of the disease is to look for hidden blood in the stool and to scan it with special devices called rectosigmoidoscope or colonoscope, which have a light camera system at the end. With the application of these methods, mortality rates due to colon cancer can be reduced by 33%. For people who are not in the risk group, a colonoscopy should be performed once over the age of 50 and every 5 years thereafter. To avoid getting colorectal cancer, eat a diet low in animal fat, consume foods high in fiber, and exercise. It is very important not to smoke or drink alcohol and to lose excess weight.
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