We are a country with diets that vary depending on the region. Does our diet affect our digestive system and intestines? How does it affect?
For example, there is a type of nutrition called the Mediterranean diet, which is a little further away from animal foods, more plant-based, especially olive oil is consumed, and fiber foods are consumed more intensively. It definitely affects us, it's not just for us, it's like this everywhere in the world. Colon cancer is more common in some regions where animal foods are consumed more and purified foods are consumed more.
We started to see colon cancer more frequently with industrialization and with the changing of eating habits to ready-made food and fast food. Even the way we eat has changed, which is very effective. Now we swallow it quickly, without chewing, almost in line with the hustle and bustle of daily life. In this case, we stay away from pulp and pulpy foods. This is the summary of the issue, the incidence of colon cancer is much lower in places where more pulpy foods are consumed. The more refined foods and fast foods consumed, the more colon cancer is seen in those regions.
What is cancer?
Even if this cancer is in our breasts. It progresses the same way whether it is in our ovaries, our intestines or our stomach.
Cancer is a Latin word. It means crab. Why does it mean crab? I did some research on this. Look at a few features of the crab, for example, it first catches it with its pincers, then it kills what it catches by gnawing it. Look, the same thing happens with cancer. First the cell enters the human body and then it gnaws and kills, so it made sense to me. The second logical reason is that we know that crabs walk sideways while walking, and cancer cells are known to move sideways in the same way and destroy the body.
Let's put it this way: there are normal cells throughout our body, these normal cells are born, reproduce and They grow, then die when they reach the end of their life. In cancer, cells are born, grow, reproduce, but do not die. It is increasingly reproducing and starting to spread around.
Cells that should have died at the end of their life in their normal rhythm did not die, on the contrary, they reproduced more. When there are some changes in the genes of the teeth and even the cells, cancer occurs.
What is the digestive system like?
The digestive system starts from the teeth, then food. It ends with the tube, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus. We are talking about the small intestine being an organ of approximately 7-75m, and the large intestine being a 1.5-2m organ. Of course, when we measure the intestines in a long way, this is the size. However, although it is so big, it can take place in our body by twisting inside our abdomen, passing through some places and contracting within itself due to their muscle structure.
In which areas is bowel cancer most common? ?
The beginning of our intestines starts from the right side, called the blind intestine, where the appendix is located, moves upwards, turns under the liver, and the horizontal large intestine curves downwards from where the spleen is located and from the place we call the anus.
Cancer can be seen in any part of the intestines, but of course it is more common in some areas. In our large intestine, which is an organ of approximately 1.5 m, 75% of the cancers are on the left side, 25% are on the right side, and there are tumors that we call synchronous tumors. These can be seen on both the right and left sides, at a rate of 5%. However, in addition to being seen 70% of the time on the left side, 70% of this 70% can be seen in approximately the last 40cm. When we look at the rate and place where it is most common, it is the part we call rectosigmoid.
Why is it seen more in this part?
The foods we eat now start to be ground in our body after a while. A slurry, mostly liquid stool is formed in the first parts of the large intestine. As that stool slowly progresses in the large intestine, the minerals etc. in the stool are absorbed, naturally, when it reaches the end, it becomes more solid, which means it has more and longer contact with the intestinal wall. For this reason, it is more likely to be seen in this region.
What are the symptoms of colon cancer?
Unfortunately, if a person has cancer on the right side, we notice it a little late. Because that area is wider n symptoms of blockage etc. occur later. When the stool becomes hard and the stenosis is more on the left side, constipation occurs. If there is cancer on the right side, it shows symptoms such as weakness, tiredness and exhaustion. The second symptom on the right side is an abnormal change in blood values.
If there is cancer on the left side, there may be a complaint of constipation. The closer the cancer is to the anus, then bleeding of different colors may be observed, or even when you go to the toilet, you still feel like you have to go to the toilet.
It may also show symptoms in seemingly simple cases such as abdominal pain or gas complaints. These should not be ignored. If the complaint persists for a long time, it should be checked by a doctor and the situation should be evaluated by performing the necessary tests.
Cancer occur at an early age? How did the age rate drop so much?
Sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, and age are all risk factors. When we look at age, it is much more common in people in their 50s. According to statistics, the average age for colon cancer is 63. However, this possibility increases as of the age of 50. Considering the risk factors and genetic factors, sometimes this age rate can decrease to 25-30 years. There are genetic factors, it can be seen more in people with genetic diseases, it can be seen more in people with some intestinal diseases, it can be seen more in people with polyps in their intestines, there are also some genetic polyp diseases and it is seen more in them. If there is colon cancer in first-degree relatives such as mother, father, sibling, it is more common in these people.
What kind of tests are performed to diagnose colon cancer?
First The patient's story is heard in full detail. First, we immediately request a fecal occult blood test. If the results of such tests are positive or other symptoms are very dominant, then endoscopic examinations are taken into account in patients. In other words, if we fully suspect that there is any bad condition in the large intestine, we perform what we call a colonoscopy.
If we see a tumoral development during the colonoscopy performed for the intestines, we first check whether it is malignant or benign. Polyp if benign, cancer if malignant we say. Polyps can be seen very frequently. Polyps seen during colonoscopy must be removed, even if they are benign, because there is always the possibility of them turning into cancer in the future. Moreover, it is a big step in early diagnosis.
If the results of the tests are negative and colon cancer is detected, we immediately perform other adjacent tests on the patient to see how much and where it has spread. Because we can save the patient by stepping in surgically, removing the tumor in a Stage 1 cancer and cleaning the lymph nodes in that area.
Stages of cancer…
At this stage, the tumor is inside the intestinal wall
At this stage, it is growing outside of the intestinal wall
At this stage, the tumor is located inside the intestinal wall. It spreads towards the glands
In this stage, there is a situation where it spreads from distant metastases, that is, to other organs.
Sometimes the patient is in the last stage of the cancer. Chemotherapy treatment may be more appropriate first, surgery may not be appropriate at first.
What is the effect of industrialization on cancer?
All over the world Cancer is always more common in socio-economically advanced and industrialized areas. All types of cancer can be seen. Because with industrialization, our eating habits change, fast food diets come into play, we start to consume more refined products, the pollution spread by the industry is in question, and the incidence is higher in people who come into close contact with them.
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