Colorectal Cancer - What You Must Know

Cancer of the colon and/or rectum is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Fortunately, colon cancer is usually slow-growing and screening tests can detect it before it spreads.

There are several main risk factors for colorectal cancer, including:

• History of the disease in a close family member
• Previous occurrence of the disease or a history of precancerous colon polyps
• Personal history of inflammatory bowel disease
• Rare genetic mutations
• Race: Blacks have a higher incidence of colon cancer than other racial groups and a lower survival rate

What are the symptoms of colon cancer? The main symptoms include:

• A change in bowel habits
• Narrow, pencil-thin stools
• Rectal bleeding or blood in your stool
• Persistent abdominal discomfort
• A feeling that your bowel doesn't empty completely
• Unexplained weight loss

The American Cancer Society recommends colonoscopy beginning at the age of 50 for people at average risk of the disease. If you have a personal or family history of the disease, or if you are African-American, your doctor may recommend earlier and/or more frequent screenings. There are a number of screening tools available, including barium enema, sigmoidoscopy, fecal occult blood test (which detects hidden blood in the stool), colonoscopy and virtual colonoscopy.

Colonoscopy is currently the test of choice for colon cancer screening. It allows the doctor to view the entire colon and remove polyps or take tissue samples from suspicious areas.

Fortunately, there are steps you can take in your everyday life to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer. Make sure you:

• Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods. These foods contain nutrients, fiber and antioxidants that may play a role in cancer prevention. Aim for five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day and include a variety of them in your diet.
• Limit fat consumption, especially saturated fat. Saturated fats are mainly from animal sources, although the tropical oils - coconut, palm and palm kernel - are highly saturated fats.
• Eat a varied diet. While studies haven't proven conclusively that you can totally prevent colon cancer, there is evidence that certain vitamins and minerals reduce the risk. Vitamins and minerals linked to lower incidence of colon cancer are vitamin-B6, calcium, folic acid and magnesium. It certainly makes sense to enhance your diet with a wide variety of nutritious, low-fat foods.
• Limit alcohol consumption. Men should have no more than two drinks per day, women no more than one drink a day. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor.
• Stop smoking. If you're struggling with quitting, talk to your doctor. There are effective medications that can assist you in your efforts.
• Stay physically active and maintain a healthy weight. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. The current recommendations call for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days a week.

There is some evidence that certain medications can reduce risk of colon cancer. However, there is currently not enough evidence to recommend these medications for people who have an average risk of colon cancer. If you have an increased risk of the disease, you might discuss the benefits vs. risks of these medications, including:

• Aspirin. There is some evidence linking reduced risk of colon polyps and cancer to regular aspirin use. However, it seems that this isn't true for low-dose aspirin or short-term use. It may be that it would take large doses over a prolonged period to have a beneficial effect, but using aspirin in this manner may cause other problems, such as gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers.
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs other than aspirin. These drugs include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) and naproxen (Aleve, others). Some studies have indicated NSAIDs may reduce the risk of polyps and cancer, but side effects include ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding. Some NSAIDs have been linked to increased risk of heart problems.
• Celecoxib (Celebrex). These drugs are known as COX-2 inhibitors and they work similarly to the NSAIDs for pain relief. Some evidence suggests they may reduce the risk of precancerous polyps in people who have been diagnosed with these polyps in the past. However, COX-2 drugs carry a risk of heart problems and two COX-2 inhibitor drugs were removed from the market because of this.

Many people are embarrassed about the screening required for colorectal cancer or worried about discomfort from the procedure. Don't let this stop you from undergoing these tests - it might just save your life.

Carol Mason has a masters degree in health and fitness and has worked in this field for 15 years. She has written an Ebook, Fitness on Your Terms, that can help you design a program of physical activity that meets your needs and yet isn't too difficult to do on a regular basis. She has also written an article about portion sizes, Portion Distortion. Please visit her website http://www.myinfobooklet.com to see the book and other free articles. Carol also has a blog at http://think-lean.blogspot.com

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Colon Cleanse Fast, Is it Possible?

Most people have got used to living in a fast world. There always seem to be an instant answer to every superficial problem that comes our way. Despite this, the number of people with health conditions seems to be on the rise, and the number of people with digestive problems is increasing rapidly. Intestinal and colon colon-related illnesses are very common, and so many are looking to carry out a colon cleanse, fast and simple.

Colon cleansing is not a new procedure. In fact, it has was practised as long ago as 1500 BC by the Egyptians, in fact records have shown that enemas were quite routine and used to treat a multitude of conditions.

Today there are many different ways of colon cleansing such as colon hydrotherapy, laxatives, herbal supplements, oxygen-based colon cleansers, and colon cleansing therapies. These procedures vary in terms of duration and cleansing preparation and processes used. The effects of colon cleansing also vary from one approach to the other.

The colon is part of the large intestine and is about 6-feet long and only three inches wide. It absorbs water coming from liquefied foods and transports waste for evacuation.

However, when the colon is not functioning properly, the waste materials can accumulated and this can cause blockages and constipation.

Eliminating waste is a natural body process, so why do you need a colon cleanse when your body can do this all by itself?

Continue reading to discover natural methods to a cleaner colon and sign up for our Free Detox Newsletter.

Unfortunately, western society has embraced many habits that are detrimental to the health of the colon, including a diet that is high in fat, fried foods, processed foods and sugars, and low in fiber, vegetables and fruit and a low intake of pure water.

This can lead to slower bowel movements and accumulation of waste material in the colon.

There is no one colon cleansing procedure that is considered as 'fast', although many preparations may advertise themselves as such.

Oftentimes, it greatly depends on the health of the colon and the amount of waste material attached to the walls of the colon.

If your diet has consisted of less healthy or nutritious foods for many years, then you may have more of a task to regain colon health, which will of course take longer to accomplish.

Many preparations suggest that the treatment will take about a week. This is true even with professional colon cleansing. It would take about several sessions before the colon is completely cleansed.

That being said, if a person has a need to quickly clean the colon, the quickest and most professional approach would likely be colonic hydrotherapy as a trained individual who will treat each case individually carries out this procedure.

If you want to colon cleanse fast then start living a healthier lifestyle now. You can't do this overnight but it helps to know that your efforts will pay off in the end. By eating healthy choices of food, your digestive system will function better, including the colon.

Sign up for Maggie Simmons' free Colon Cleanse newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you discover more about colon cleanse fast.

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