Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Aspirin, Colonoscopy, Screening

Screening For Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of ill-timed deaths in the US. So, successful colorectal cancer prevention calls for timely diagnosis. Screening is one of the most effective ways to prevent tumors in colons from becoming cancerous.

It involves periodic colonoscopy and if needed follow-up biopsies to be conducted on patients of ulcerative colitis. In colonoscopy, a doctor introduces a special scope connected to a tube into the colon via the anus. Its built-in camera equipped with a light then shows the state of the colon's internal mucosa therein on a monitor screen.

Further, these tests need to be even extended to all other persons. A program that educates US citizens in the importance of periodic screening is most essential to reduce the number of colorectal cancer deaths.

Such a program needs to spread the awareness of the life threatening danger associated with colorectal cancer throughout the US. Further, the periodic screening diagnostic tests need to be conducted on all US citizens aged 15 years and older, irrespective of their health status.

Through colonoscopy, the presence of adenomas (benign tumors) in the colon would become known. All persons who have such tumors would thereafter be required to undergo periodic biopsies. A biopsy involves taking a sample of the adenoma tissue from the colon and conducting tests on it to confirm if the cells in it are cancerous.

The advantage in going in for periodic biopsies is that even before the tumor becomes cancerous it can be excised and the chances of it turning into a lymphoma reduced. The screening biopsy would be required to be continued even in tumor excised patients.

This is because another tumor may develop in the colon that can turn cancerous with time. Such a program can with people's cooperation help in reducing the number of deaths caused due to colorectal cancer.

Looking into the hereditary factors associated with colorectal cancer, families susceptible to the illness need to be paid more attention to by the program. The program needs to emphasize the kicking of the smoking and alcohol drinking habit, if it is to effectively stall the progress of colorectal cancer.

Administering aspirin on a long-term basis to patients of ulcerative colitis has been found to be helpful in halting the cancerous degenerative changes in their colons. However, the side effects of extended duration aspirin intake on the stomach and ulcers it causes in the intestine preclude its use as a colorectal cancer preventing drug.

The removal of the entire colon and stitching up the intestine to the rectum is another colorectal cancer prevention method. However, its disadvantage is that the urge to defecate becomes more frequent in operated patients. Moreover, the body becomes bereft of the friendly colon resident bacteria.