Why is colon cancer discovered in the middle and late stages? Reminder: These 4 high-risk groups need regular colonoscopy!
In recent years, affected by changes in Chinese residents' dietary habits, living habits, and aging , the incidence of bowel cancer is still increasing year by year, and the number of new diagnoses each year has reached nearly 600,000.
What is even more worrying is that due to the atypical early symptoms of colorectal cancer and the low vigilance of the people about colorectal cancer, the diagnosis rate of early colorectal cancer in China is quite low, which directly affects the overall prognosis of colorectal cancer.
Some related studies even pointed out that the overall survival rate of Chinese patients with colorectal cancer within five years is less than 30%, and the five-year survival rate of patients with advanced colorectal cancer is even less than 5%.
It is undeniable that there are no typical symptoms in the early stage of bowel cancer, or it is normal and very similar to common enteritis, irritable bowel syndrome or hemorrhoids, which is difficult to cause the patient's vigilance.
Affected by the lack of awareness of bowel cancer screening and the fear of colonoscopy , the early diagnosis rate of bowel cancer continues to be low.
Therefore, from a clinical point of view, high-risk groups should pay attention to colonoscopy screening, especially the following categories of people should not be ignored:
1. Have a family history
Bowel cancer has a certain familial aggregation and genetic tendency. If someone in the first-degree immediate family member is diagnosed with bowel cancer , or if at least two of the two generations of immediate family members are diagnosed with colorectal cancer , then you have bowel cancer yourself. High-risk groups, even those with no symptoms, need regular colonoscopy screening.
In addition, if there is adenomatous polyposis in the family, you also need to be vigilant. This is an autosomal dominant genetic disease . The patient may develop the disease before the age of 20. If not treated in time , the future cancer rate is almost the same at 100%;
2. People with symptoms
As mentioned above, the symptoms of colorectal cancer are not typical. During the development of the disease, patients may have multiple symptoms such as disordered bowel habits, constipation, alternating diarrhea and constipation, mixed bloody stools, abdominal pain , etc., which are different from common chronic intestinal diseases. Very similar and prone to misjudgment.
Therefore, from a clinical point of view, no matter whether these symptoms are related to bowel cancer or not, as long as there are similar manifestations, especially inexplicable blood in the stool, you should seek medical attention in time for colonoscopy screening;
3. Older
It has to be said that although bowel cancer is on the trend of younger people, clinically, the colorectal cancer in China is still dominated by middle-aged and elderly people over 40 years old. will be higher .
This is related to many reasons, such as long-term bad eating habits, continuous development of chronic intestinal diseases, aging, and poor immune function. Therefore, as long as you are over 45 years old, you should pay attention to colonoscopy screening;
4. Have chronic intestinal diseases
The key point to mention here is adenomatous polyposis, which has a relatively high cancer rate. Therefore, as long as the adenoma is detected, the doctor will recommend the patient to be removed for treatment.
However, excision does not mean once and for all, because there is a certain possibility of recurrence of this polyp. Therefore, even after resection, patients need regular follow-up.
Finally, it should be emphasized that the purpose of colonoscopy is to understand the overall health of the intestines, and to treat them in time after discovering abnormalities.
Therefore, everyone should not be afraid of colonoscopy, especially high-risk groups should be more vigilant about colon cancer, and regular colonoscopy is the best practice. If you are really afraid of pain, you can also choose a painless colonoscopy for screening if your physical conditions permit.