Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in both men and women. Colon cancer develops in one out of every 10 people. Thanks to the screenings, the death rate due to colon cancer has decreased in the last 20 years. Risk Factors The exact cause of colon cancer is unknown, and the most well-known risk factors are;
• Being overweight or obese
• Not being physically active
• Highly processed food
or red meat consumption
• Alcohol use
• Smoking
• Advanced age
• Having a family history of similar cancer
Some genetic diseases:
Changes in certain genes increase the risk of colon cancer. Hereditary nonpolyposis
Colon cancer (HNPCC) is the most common type of hereditary (genetic) colorectal cancer.
Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is characterized by hereditary polyps in the colon and rectum.
is a rare condition. It happens as a result of changes in a special gene called APC.
Having had a previous colon cancer: a patient with a history of colon cancer
The person may develop colon cancer again.
Ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease: In those with the mentioned inflammatory disease of the intestine
increased risk of colon cancer.
Symptoms:
Changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea-constipation and these changes last longer than a few days
Feeling of incomplete emptying of the bowel
Blood in the stool (bright or dark red), or darkening of the stool color
Abdominal bloating, cramp-like pain or gas
Weight loss for no known reason
constant fatigue
Colon cancers, polyps that can turn into cancer can be detected by colonoscopy in the early period.
It has become a preventable disease as a result of being recognized and treated.
What is a colonoscopy?
The examination of hollow organs with a bendable instrument with a camera on the tip is called endoscopy. This process is named specifically according to the region being examined. last gut
Examination of the colon is called ‘rectoscopy’, and examination of the entire large intestine is called ‘colonoscopy’. When is a colonoscopy done?
* Family history of colon cancer,
* Follow-up and treatment of intestinal polyps,
* Follow-up of patients who have undergone bowel cancer surgery,
* Every healthy person over the age of 45 (for screening purposes),
* Bleeding from the rectum,
* Long-term and unresponsive to treatment anemia,
* diagnosis and follow-up of inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis),
* Change in defecation habits (long-term diarrhea or constipation),
* Stool thinning, feeling of defecation and not being able to defecate when going to the toilet,
* Performed in cases of unexplained abdominal pain and weight loss
Through colonoscopy:
* Detection and removal of structures called polyps located on the inner surface of the intestine,
* Imaging and biopsy of tumoral masses,
* Detection of ‘Diverticulum’, known as pocketing in the intestinal wall,
* Imaging vascular problems and stopping if there is an existing bleeding,
* Conditions such as intestinal obstruction that develops due to the rotation of the intestines around itself.
correction may be possible.
