If you don't want to get colon cancer, don't fall in love with this delicacy

Westernized diet, increasing number of obese people, lack of awareness of regular screening... In recent years, the incidence of colon cancer in my country has shown a clear upward trend, especially right-sided colon cancer. But at the same time, colon cancer is a cancer with very good comprehensive treatment effects. Early diagnosis and treatment can achieve a cure rate of more than 90%.

How can we fight a smart war against colon cancer? Chen Weiqing, director of the Department of Gastroenterology and chief physician at Chongqing Cancer Hospital, said that these six methods must be kept in mind.

Outpatient Cases

41-year-old man suffers from colon cancer

Mr. Zhao, 41, from Jiangbei, is a real foodie. He loves grilled brains, grilled pork intestines, spicy fish, pepper chicken, hotpot, skewers, etc. Basically, he loves nothing without spicy food and nothing without meat.

In February this year, Mr. Zhao suddenly felt a dull pain in his stomach and blood in his stool. He thought it was enteritis, so he didn't take it seriously, and it took a month. One night in March, he had just returned home and his stomach started to hurt again. This time, the pain made him break out in a cold sweat. He went to a nearby clinic and got an IV drip for a few days, but it didn't get better. So he went to Chongqing Cancer Hospital for a colonoscopy. The test results came out, and it was early right colon cancer.

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The doctor said that the condition should be under control through endoscopic surgery. But Mr. Zhao, who was depressed, repeatedly asked the doctor why he had colon cancer at such a young age.

The peak age for colon cancer in my country is 45 years old

"The colon is a very important section of the intestine in the human body. Its function is to absorb water and other substances from the food residues digested and absorbed by the small intestine, and eventually turn these residues into feces and excrete them out of the body." Director Chen Weiqing said that in recent years, the incidence of colon cancer in my country has shown a clear upward trend. The occurrence of colorectal cancer is significantly affected by the environment, and environmental factors account for about 80% of it. At the same time, colon cancer is a cancer with very good comprehensive treatment effects. Early diagnosis and treatment can achieve a cure rate of more than 90%.

Compared with European and American countries, the onset age of colon cancer in my country is significantly earlier, with the peak age being around 45 years old, which is 12-18 years earlier than in Europe, the United States and other countries.

Director Chen believes that in addition to genetic factors, it is also related to eating habits, obesity, colon polyps, regular physical examinations, etc. "Therefore, if you are smart enough, you can take targeted preventive measures and fight a smart war against colon cancer," said Director Chen.

High-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber diet increases right-sided colon cancer

"In 2014, an authoritative organization studied the incidence of colon cancer in three cities in China, Hong Kong, Chongqing, and Neijiang, Sichuan, over the past 10 years. The results showed that the incidence of right-sided colon cancer in these three cities has increased." Director Chen said that in general, there are more right-sided colon cancer patients in the West, while 10 years ago in my country, colon cancer patients were mainly on the left side, and there were fewer right-sided colon cancer patients.

The reason for this is that the incidence of right-sided colon cancer is mainly related to a high-fat, high-sugar, low-fiber diet. Westerners' diets are mostly high in animal protein, high in fat, and too refined, such as beef, low in fiber, and refined rice and flour, so right-sided colon cancer is more common. The Chinese food culture thousands of years ago was mainly low in fat, high in starch, and high in fiber. Under this dietary structure, the incidence of right-sided colon cancer is relatively low.

"However, with the changes in people's lifestyles and the westernization of eating habits, the incidence of right-sided colon cancer in our country has shown a clear upward trend in recent years," said Director Chen.

Obesity is also a risk factor for colon cancer

"In addition to the westernization of eating habits, modern people exercise less and sit for long periods of time, and the number of obese people is gradually increasing. Obesity can not only cause high blood lipids, high blood sugar, high uric acid, fatty liver, etc., but also increase the incidence of colon cancer." Director Chen explained that obese men often consume too much animal fat and cholesterol in their daily diet. Due to work reasons, they usually sit in the office, and do not pay attention to physical exercise. This will increase the burden on the digestive tract and hinder normal digestion. The metabolic products of fat will eventually be converted into carcinogens.

On the other hand, obese people consume relatively less dietary fiber, which helps enhance intestinal motility and aids in digestion and the breakdown of fat. If the intestines lack the help of dietary fiber, constipation is likely to occur, which over time can become a potential risk factor for colorectal cancer.

If you don't have regular screening, polyps may turn into cancer.

In addition, the screening rate for colon cancer in my country is relatively low, and citizens are not aware of physical examinations. Most patients are already in the late stage when they are discovered, and the treatment effect is not good. Director Chen pointed out that the current painless gastrointestinal endoscopy screening costs about 1,000 yuan, and many people are unwilling to spend this money for examination before obvious symptoms appear. However, once colon cancer is discovered, many patients will spend more and a lot of money for treatment.

In fact, such a lesson is very painful. Especially for patients with colon polyps, if they do not pay attention to regular screening, they may develop colon polyps - abnormal surface proliferation - colon cancer. 75% of colon cancer patients follow this path.

6 ways you can deal with colon cancer

Director Chen said that early-stage colon cancer is preventable and controllable. There are many effective means for both prevention and early detection. The key lies in whether you are smart enough and whether you take "smart" measures to deal with it.

Method 1: Don’t eat too much high-fat food

If you are smart enough, to prevent colon cancer, it is best to stop pursuing Western diets and restore the most traditional Chinese diet structure, which is mainly plant-based foods. Plant-based foods contain a variety of vegetables, fruits, beans and roughly processed grains.

§ Eat more vegetables and fruits, especially pay attention to increasing fiber intake;

§ Drink less alcohol and avoid stimulating foods such as coffee, cold drinks, etc.;

§ People who like to eat meat should consume less than 90 grams of red meat (pork, beef, lamb, etc.) every day. They should eat more white meat (such as deep-sea fish) and can use fish and poultry instead of red meat;

§ Limit intake of high-fat foods, especially organ meats.

Method 2: Obese people should control their weight

If you are smart, you should also increase the amount of exercise, do 1 hour of brisk walking or similar exercise every day, and do at least 1 hour of sweating exercise every week. And obese people should strictly control their weight and reduce it to a normal range. Of course, weight loss should be carried out from multiple aspects such as diet and exercise.

Method 3: Colonoscopy for those over 45 years old

If you are smart, you should do a colonoscopy screening once a year after the age of 45. The older you are, the more times you should have a physical examination each year so that you can find problems in time and prevent them early. People with a family history of colorectal cancer should pay more attention to screening.

Method 4: Is bowel preparation taken seriously?

If you are smart, you should also take an active approach to bowel preparation before doing colonoscopy screening. For example, have you strictly followed the doctor's instructions, eaten a low-fiber diet for two days, and drank enough water? Have you collected relevant knowledge about bowel preparation, etc. It is understood that around 10-20% of patients are missed every year due to poor bowel preparation.

Method 5: Check regularly if polyps are found

If you are smart, you should treat polyps immediately after discovering them, and do colonoscopy every year to monitor whether polyps continue to appear. But don't panic after discovering polyps.

Method 6: Blood in the stool is not necessarily hemorrhoids

If you are smart, you will pay attention to the characteristics of your stool in your daily life, such as whether the stool is thin, unformed, or bloody. Especially for those with bloody stools, although hemorrhoids also cause blood in the stool, early colorectal cancer can also cause blood in the stool, so you should go to the hospital for examination in time and don't mistake it for hemorrhoids.

Source: Chongqing University Cancer Hospital

Audit expert: Chen Weiqing

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