hey guys there's some big news today about colorectal cancer the second leading cause
of cancer death in this video i'm going to talk about who should get screened
and what you can do to minimize your chances of getting it and if you're new to my channel
welcome i'm doctor mike hansen and i make these videos to provide accurate health information
so you can stay in the know and truly better your life so if you want to see more of these videos
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colon cancer when caught early is one of the most treatable and curable cancers in the united states
about 52 000 people die of it every year and that number is trending in the wrong direction more and
more younger people are getting it as of right now 10 of cases are in people younger than 50. today
the u.s preventative services task force just changed that recommended age to start screening
for colon cancer from 50 to now 45 so the usptsf joins the american cancer society in recommending
screening for adults between the ages of 45 to 75. this is a recommendation for the general
population a whole separate category from those who are genetically determined to be at high risk
of colon cancer those people will need screening at an earlier age or on a more urgent basis
and sometimes both this also includes people who have a prior diagnosis of colorectal cancer or
a history of colon or rectal polyps the task force also recommends selective screening for
those aged 76 to 85 to be made based on individual circumstances so far based on screening starting
at age 50 for every 50 000 colon cancer deaths 1 250 deaths are avoided by dropping that to age 45
you're looking at avoiding 1 300 deaths so going from age 50 to age 45 saves an additional 50 lives
why are more and more younger people getting it there are ongoing studies and this is a huge topic
although not yet proven there's a lot of evidence that points to the western diet this means people
who eat primarily processed food especially processed meat a lot of which contains nitrites so
nitrite consumption can lead to the formation of n-nitroso compounds some of which are carcinogenic
but it's not just the processed meat processed food in general means low fiber and high
amounts of added sugar this is a recipe for chronic disaster and not just for the colon
i'm going to come back to this in a bit and just to be clear nitrites are bad nitrates are good
nitrates are found in high amounts in beets your body changes nitrates into nitric oxide
which improves blood flow and can bring down blood pressure
for more info on this you can check out a video i made right here
colorectal cancer rates are far higher amongst black americans
they're 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer than white people and 40
percent more likely to die from it is it because of diet is it genetics is it lower screening rates
access to care all of the above this is still an unknown with more research needed in 2017 the us
multi-society task force on colorectal cancer recommended that screening begin at age 45 in
african americans and age 50 in other groups chadwick boseman the star of black panther
died of colon cancer at the age of 43. he was diagnosed at age 39 and that was back in 2016.
at that time it had already been stage 3 meaning it had already grown through the colon wall the
prognosis is so much better if you catch it at an earlier stage his case highlights why it's
so important to have these new guidelines because we have to get ahead of this alarming trend by the
year 2030 colorectal cancer is actually on track to nearly double in people under the age of 50
and also by 2030 it's projected to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in ages 20 to 49.
when it comes to colon cancer screening is it better to do a colonoscopy or a stool test
it's important that you talk with your healthcare provider about which test is best for you during a
colonoscopy a long flexible tube with a tiny light in camera at the tip is inserted into your rectum
but hey it's not as bad as it sounds because most patients have little or no recollection of that
experience thanks to sedation it's like they had no idea that dr smith was in there looking
at your entire colon and rectum and looking for polyps which in some cases lead to cancer
what did you find in there dr smith not much he's mostly full of [ __ ] colonoscopy is the gold
standard for colon cancer screening and there are a few risks associated with that procedure
but can you be screened without having to do a colonoscopy a stool dna test called cola guard
is an easy to use screening test that can be done at home you collect a stool sample and send
it off with your friendly mail carrier and boom you're done the test is safe and poses no risk
but it is slightly less sensitive compared to colonoscopy at least when it comes to finding
precancerous polyps about 1.5 people out of every 20 will have a false positive meaning they'll have
a positive result but no cancer or polyps found when they eventually do that follow-up colonoscopy
other factors that may increase your risk of colon cancer include conditions that cause inflammation
in the colon also family history of colon cancer smoking and a typical western diet especially with
eating too much processed food and added sugar while certain factors may be out of your control
like genetics your family history there are things that you can do to minimize your risk this means
eating real foods that are not processed in other words things like fruits vegetables and whole
grains these contain vitamins minerals fiber antioxidants and don't have that added sugar
for lots of people it's hard to eat healthy because of taste the time it takes to cook it
and money when i don't have time to cook to get all those healthy nutrients i should be eating
my go-to is superfood powder and then i just blend that in a glass of water
or stir it in a glass of water when it comes to alcohol it's best to avoid it or at least
keep it to a minimum nothing wrong with an occasional drink and if you smoke colon cancer
is one more reason you can add to the list of reasons to quit and of course exercise and
maintaining a healthy weight is very important as well so that's all for this video thank you
for watching and i'll be coming out with some new videos pretty soon so stay tuned for that
you