Colorectal Cancer – one of the many modern diseases of the 21st century. Why pose such a statement, you ask? It is the number of people each year that are diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer that made us count this awful condition among the most common health problems of 21st century along with depression, erectile dysfunction, and many others.

The good news is to hear that the researchers and doctors do not seem to give up on this subject as they continue to research and develop new treatment techniques that can help their patients get better. However, this latest discovery caused a little bit of a shock to anyone that read the latest study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. But, before we explain the newest findings, let’s review some quick facts about colorectal cancer first.

A Few Quick Facts about Colorectal Cancer

• Colorectal cancer, as the term suggests, affects two big parts of the large intestine – the colon and the rectum when tumors form in the lining of the large intestine;
• The risk of developing colorectal cancer rises after the age of 50;
• Common symptoms include diarrhea/constipation, the presence of blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. However, in most cases, the symptoms start developing after cancer has entered the late stage;
• Unfortunately, the exact cause of colorectal cancer is unknown in most cases. However, there are many risk factors that are believed to play a big role in the development of colorectal cancer such as – a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, chronic inflammatory conditions of the colon, relying on low fiber and high-fat diet, diabetes, obesity, smoking, and excessive drinking;
• The newest statistics show that approximately 4.4. percent of men and women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer at some point in their life according to the statistics made during 2011 to 2013.

About The Study

The research was published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute and it was lead by Rebecca L.Siegel. It involved a retrospective look at more than 490 000 people in their 20s and older that have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer since 1974 to 2013. What it revealed was truly shocking news. We previously mentioned that colorectal cancer most offer affects men and women after the age of 50. However, this new study following the colorectal cancer cases between the mid-1980 and 2013 found that things have changed. It was the incidence of colorectal cancer developing after the age of 55 that was found to be declined, as compared with the incidence of colorectal cancer among people in their 20s and 30s to be increased. If you are wondering how much this incidence has increased – it is nearly 1 to 2 percent of people in their 20s and 30s. The researchers successfully confirmed the rise and decline of the incidence of new colorectal cancer, however, when they were asked to give their opinion about the exact cause behind this rise of incidence, there was no exact cause confirmed. It is still unknown what causes colorectal cancer in general, neither is the reason behind this rise of new cases of colorectal cancer among people in their 20s and 30s known. But, the lead author of the study – Rebecca L.Siegel shared her opinion on the matter when she suggested that it might be the change of lifestyle nowadays and the many factors that are present and might have a certain role with it come to colorectal cancer such as obesity, low fiber diet, and sedentary lifestyle. Now, according to this study, it is suggested that people born around the 1990s have twice as a bigger risk of developing colorectal cancer as compared with people who were born in the 1950s.

What Did This Study Teach Us?

After going through this shocking study, we are more and more convinced that we need to watch over our health more. It is not just enough to know all the symptoms of all the diseases that most often affect your age group because not all of them will show their signs and warn you in time to ask for help. And we concluded that colorectal cancer is one of them. No matter if you are a man or a woman, or if you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s and so on, you should take precautions that will able you to prevent not only colorectal cancer but other harmful health conditions. And when it comes to preventing colorectal cancer you should think about visiting your doctor more often and getting that colonoscopy at least once a year to make sure that your health is preserved. Do not wait to see a blood in your stool to contact your doctor for help. If you can relate to at least one risk factor that we mentioned before, do not wait for something to happen before you get that risk factor out of your life. Do the necessary changes in your lifestyle and remove any chances of colorectal cancer as soon as possible.

Conclusion

What was once thought to be a disease of the elderly, affecting people after the age of 50, even after the age of 55, now it makes no difference about who’s affecting? We are talking about colorectal cancer – the condition that affects two big parts of our large intestine – the colon and the rectum. This new research published in the Journal of National Cancer Institute and lead by Rebecca L.Siegel investigated the cases of colorectal cancer of all ages during the period of the mid-1980s to 2013 only to find that surprisingly the incidence of new colorectal cancer cases involving people over the age of 55 has declined. However, unfortunately, and without knowing the exact cause, the incidence of new colorectal cancer cases involving people in their 20s and 30s has surprisingly increased. After this, it is for sure that we will need more researchers to be done in order to find out more details about this shocking discovery but we also hope that this study will be shocking enough to make you rethink your lifestyle choices especially if you are born around the 1990s.

References

• https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/colorect.html