In light of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, an annual worldwide celebration in March, we spoke to a gastroenterologist to find out more about the disease.
Colorectal cancer refers to colon cancer, rectum cancer or both. One of the biggest misconceptions about the disease is that only affects older people. The truth is that it’s on the rise in people under the age of 50.
A person’s family history and ethnicity moreover put them at a higher risk. In Germany, over 60,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer annually, and over 24,000 people die of it, according to the Felix Burda Foundation.
Dr. Andreas Pötzl is a specialist for internal medicine in the Bavarian town of Rehau. He says that colorectal cancer can be prevented by regular screening and dispels the myth of what it’s like to get a colonoscopy.
Why is it so important to get screened for colorectal cancer?
Dr. Pötzl: When symptoms occur, it is usually already too late. Colorectal cancer is a disease that causes no symptoms for a long time. If a patient complains of abdominal pain, stool irregularities or blood in the stool, the cancer is often already advanced. In any case, you should get screened from the age of 50 onwards so that it doesn’t get to this point.
If you have a first-degree relative with colorectal cancer, the rule of thumb when it comes to getting tested is that you should definitely do it ten years before the age of onset of the disease. So for instance, if your dad got it at the age of 40, you should get screened by 30.
How can regular check-ups help?
Dr. Pötzl: Most colorectal cancers develop first as polyps, which are abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum. These benign polyps usually don’t cause any symptoms. But because there’s a chance they can later become cancerous if not removed, doctors typically remove them during an endoscopy. This degeneration from benign polyps to intestinal cancer can take up to 10 years. But with a colonoscopy, the probability of this occurring can be reduced by 80 percent.
Which examination methods provide a reliable diagnosis?
Dr. Pötzl: The gold standard is and remains a colonoscopy. With the stool test method, traces of blood can be an indication of intestinal polyps or tumors. However, the blood can also contain other agents, such as hemorrhoids or harmless injuries to the anal skin. A colonoscopy is therefore the safest method of detecting this type of cancer. If the findings are inconspicuous, it is sufficient to repeat the test seven to ten years later.
Many patients get anxious at the idea of undergoing a colonoscopy. Why is this?
Dr. Pötzl: Most of them are worried that they will feel the endoscope being inserted, that they will not be sufficiently anaesthetized during the examination itself or that they will experience other inconveniences. I promise my patients that this worry is completely unfounded.
How long does the procedure take?
Dr. Pötzl: Depending on the results, between 15 minutes and one hour. As a rule, colonoscopy is performed on an outpatient basis and the patient can go home accompanied by someone after waking up.
The experts say: ‘Healthy bowel, healthy person.’ What do you personally do for your bowel?
Dr. Pötzl: I eat a balanced diet, preferably Mediterranean food, and I exercise regularly. I like to go to the mountains often. By the way, sport stimulates the intestines to perform at their best: blood circulation is improved, digestion is accelerated. That’s why active people rarely struggle with constipation, bloating or flatulence. One reason for the development of an intestinal tumor can indeed be lack of exercise.
For more info on colorectal cancer, check out the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s website. For info in German, head to the Felix Burda Foundation’s website.
