This disease became common before the age of 50!

SHAFAQNA Türkiye – President of the Turkish Association of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the Faculty of Medicine of Ankara University, Department of General Surgery, lecturer prof. Dr. Mehmet Ayhan Kuzu held a press conference at Ibni Sina Hospital as part of World Rectum (Colon) Cancer Awareness Month.

In stating that colon cancer is the 3rd most common type of cancer in both women and men, Prof. Dr. Cuzu said: “When we look at the death rate in the hospital, it goes up to the 2nd frequency.

The onset of colorectal cancer before the age of 50 is referred to as “colonectal cancer at a young age.” Typically, colon cancer is observed in 80-90% of cases after 50 years. However, over the past 30 years, the incidence among people under 50 years of age has increased by more than 20 percent. Cancer seen in people over the age of 50 shows a decrease in the statistics of the Ministry of Health, but there is an increase in cancer in people under 50 years of age.

According to the Ministry of Health, if colon cancer ranks 3rd in men and women at any age, then in the ranking up to 50 years it rises to 2nd place.

“Preventable, Curable Cancer”

Emphasizing that older age, a family history of colon cancer or a polyp, the presence of type 2 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease are risk factors that cannot be prevented. Dr. Cuzu stated that cancer can be prevented by not gaining too much weight, not overusing cigarettes, alcohol, sugar, and walking.

Cuzu said that 30 percent of cancer patients under 50 have a family history and said: “Accordingly, the age of screening is changing. If a 90-year-old family member has colon cancer, the age of the examination does not change, 45 years. However, if there is a 40-year-old colon cancer in the family, your screening age drops to 30. If he is 30, he drops to 20. If there is more than one person in the family, then a genetic analysis should be done and, possibly, the age of screening should be reduced to 15 years. If there are other types of cancer in the family, the screening age decreases accordingly.”

Noting that colon cancer is preventable, Prof. Dr. Cuzu said: “There is no cancer other than colon cancer that is preventable. Breast cancer, stomach cancer, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer are diagnosed early, and colon cancer develops exclusively from benign polyps. Since the year of the appearance of the polyp and the year of the onset of cancer are at least 3-5 years, in individuals at risk, it is possible to remove polyps by screening. Studies have shown that it reduces the development of colon cancer by 53 percent.

There is such a difference between those who have been screened and those who have not. This is a cancer that is completely curable at an early stage. Colon cancer is a preventable, curable and survivable type of cancer.