Screening for colon cancer is normally recommended at the age of 50, but in Kuwait, because of the unhealthy lifestyle, screening from the age of 40 is recommended, said an expert.

“This is unfortunate, because it just means that more people are being diagnosed and at a much younger age, added Dr Emad Al Hamar, consultant in Internal Medicine; Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Dar Al Shifa Hospital.

“Simple steps that we have known all along can be a saving grace for those who are prone to developing this disease.”

Dr Al Hamar recommends that we take a long look at the way we go through daily life and we can easily point out the aspects that can be preventive measures against colon cancer.

Though smoking is largely associated to lunge and mouth cancer, but recent studies has shown that, even those who control all other factors but continue to smoke put themselves at a very high risk.

The reason for that is that inhaled or swallowed smoke transports carcinogens to the colon; moreover, tobacco seems to cause polyps to grow in size, and therefore becoming more prone to becoming cancerous.

“Smoking is now a ‘trend’ that is adopted by younger and younger people, and so classifying them as ‘long-term’ smokers by the age of 40,” Dr Al Hamar said.

“A sedentary lifestyle devoid of lack of exercise while eating meat and fast food should be replaced with a diet rich in fibre, vegetables and calcium products and a daily workout to minimize the risk of colon cancer. More importantly, a positive outlook on life is essential to maintain the benefits of a healthy routine.”

The others elements associated with colon rectal cancer are if a genetic predisposition exists, presence of colorectal polyps, and ulcerative colitis. This is especially true of athletes who lift heavy weights and consume growth-inducing hormones which can increase the number of polyps in the colon and simultaneously increasing chances of them being cancerous. Also, there has been a recently discovered link to obesity.

“Though one cannot ‘prevent’ family history, but being conscious of it means that the patient would be more diligent at getting regular screenings. If it cannot be prevented, then early detection would be the ideal case,” Dr Al Hamar explained.

Dar Al Shifa Hospital utilizes the most recent tools in performing colon rectal surgery with majority of surgeries being achieved through the laparoscopy or single site surgery, he added. – TradeArabia News Service