Digestive System Disorders: Colon Polyps
Colon polyps are tissues that grow inside the large intestine and are common in individuals 60 years and older. Even though polyps are mostly non-cancerous, they do have the potential to become cancerous if they are not removed. Polyps vary from size and shape from a small mushroon shape with a stalk about the size of a pea to large flat ones the size of a golf ball and can appear anywhere inside the colon.
Age is a contributing factor in the risk of colon polyps. However, other factors can contribute to the development of colon polyps and cancer. Among these factors include:
Poor Eating Habits: A diet that is low in fiber and high in fat is a contributor to colon cancer because cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) in foods when consumed stay in the bowel longer. Fiber provides bulk that moves your stool more quickly through your bowel and therefore eliminates the carcinogens more quickly.
Inactive Lifestyle: Physical activity such as exercise helps in the digestion of food by moving the waste through the bowel faster. Therefore, when a person is inactive, the food stays in the bowel longer thus creating the possibility of polyps. It is noted that inactive people are more likely to develop colon cancer but not rectal cancer.
Inflammatory Intestinal Conditions: People with conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are more likely that those without the conditions to develop colon polyps and cancer.
Overweight or Obesity:The excess fat in the obese encourages the growth of the cells in the colon and the rectum. Many health problems, which also include several types of cancer including colon cancer, are linked to obesity.
Smoking: It is a widely known fact that smoking causes many deadly lung diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema. It is also known that smoking, especially when consuming excess amounts of alcohol, increases the risk of colon polyps and cancer. It is estimated that people who smoke 20 cigarettes or more a day have 250 percent more polyps than nonsmokers do.
Family History: The risk of getting colon polyps and cancer increses when a parent, sibling or other relative has the disease. Even though some are heredity, other cases of colon cancer can also be passed down through similar diet or lifestyle factors as well as simular exposure to environmental carcinogens.
Symptoms of colon polyps are sometimes not noticed and some individuals find out if they have them when a physician examines their bowel. Others however, notice symptoms such as blood in the stool and/or rectal bleeding, fatigue associated with anemia, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. Several tests for colon polyps and cancer include a rectal examination, a barium enema, colonoscopy, a virtual colonoscopy and a sigmoidoscopy.
Treatment for polyps includes the removal of them the same time a colonoscopy is performed. Follow up colonoscopies should be done on patients with polyps within 3 to 5 years to see if the polyps have returned.
Avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a diet low in fat and high in fiber, fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of getting colon polyps. Regular colonoscopies after the age of 50 are also recommended to reduce risk.
Technorati Tags: Colon Polyps,
Colon Cancer
IceRocket Tags: Colon Polyps, Colon Cancer
Age is a contributing factor in the risk of colon polyps. However, other factors can contribute to the development of colon polyps and cancer. Among these factors include:
Poor Eating Habits: A diet that is low in fiber and high in fat is a contributor to colon cancer because cancer-causing substances (carcinogens) in foods when consumed stay in the bowel longer. Fiber provides bulk that moves your stool more quickly through your bowel and therefore eliminates the carcinogens more quickly.
Inactive Lifestyle: Physical activity such as exercise helps in the digestion of food by moving the waste through the bowel faster. Therefore, when a person is inactive, the food stays in the bowel longer thus creating the possibility of polyps. It is noted that inactive people are more likely to develop colon cancer but not rectal cancer.
Inflammatory Intestinal Conditions: People with conditions such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are more likely that those without the conditions to develop colon polyps and cancer.
Overweight or Obesity:The excess fat in the obese encourages the growth of the cells in the colon and the rectum. Many health problems, which also include several types of cancer including colon cancer, are linked to obesity.
Smoking: It is a widely known fact that smoking causes many deadly lung diseases such as lung cancer and emphysema. It is also known that smoking, especially when consuming excess amounts of alcohol, increases the risk of colon polyps and cancer. It is estimated that people who smoke 20 cigarettes or more a day have 250 percent more polyps than nonsmokers do.
Family History: The risk of getting colon polyps and cancer increses when a parent, sibling or other relative has the disease. Even though some are heredity, other cases of colon cancer can also be passed down through similar diet or lifestyle factors as well as simular exposure to environmental carcinogens.
Symptoms of colon polyps are sometimes not noticed and some individuals find out if they have them when a physician examines their bowel. Others however, notice symptoms such as blood in the stool and/or rectal bleeding, fatigue associated with anemia, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea. Several tests for colon polyps and cancer include a rectal examination, a barium enema, colonoscopy, a virtual colonoscopy and a sigmoidoscopy.
Treatment for polyps includes the removal of them the same time a colonoscopy is performed. Follow up colonoscopies should be done on patients with polyps within 3 to 5 years to see if the polyps have returned.
Avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a diet low in fat and high in fiber, fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of getting colon polyps. Regular colonoscopies after the age of 50 are also recommended to reduce risk.
Technorati Tags: Colon Polyps,
Colon Cancer
IceRocket Tags: Colon Polyps, Colon Cancer
Labels: colon cancer, colonoscopy, digestive disorders, polyps
posted by Tim at
8:20 PM
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