The pandemic delayed most medical check-ups. Therefore, in the World Colon Cancer Daythe Obelisk and other monuments of the City will light up blue to raise awareness about the importance of prevention, early detection and treatment for this disease that is the second cause of death in the country by malignant tumors in both sexes, after lung cancer.
The colon cancer It is a malignant tumor that originates in the large intestine (colon and rectum), from a precursor lesion that is a polyp. “Each year more than 13,500 new cases are diagnosed and there are approximately 7 thousand deathswhich represents 20 deaths per day, being a preventable disease and even avoidable if it is diagnosed at the stage of the previous injury, that is, the polyp,” he explained. Fabio Nachman (MN 96.066), head of the Gastroenterology Service of the Favaloro Foundation and former president of the Argentine Society of Gastroenterology.
According to the specialist, the prognosis is directly related to the stage in which the diagnosis is made. “In the polyp stage, the disease is preventable. When cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, the cure rate is above 90% and this drops to values below the 10% at five years in advanced stages,” he warned.
Nachman revealed that, unfortunately, in Argentina it is a tumor that continues to rank second in cancer deaths because 7 out of 10 people that have the indication to carry out some type of control for early detection, they do not do it. “In many countries, the screening more importantly. In Argentina, however, these figures were relegated”, he commented.
Nachman argued that it is a hereditary tumor at 25% of the cases diagnosed with a family history of the disease, that is, a history of cancer in a first-degree relative (parents and siblings) before the age of 60, who are considered to be at increased risk. Meanwhile, the 75% remaining of the diagnosed cases do not have family background.
In this sense, the specialist clarified that there are various aspects related to habits that increase the risk of colon cancer, such as: diet rich in fat and red meat and low in fiber, sedentary lifestyle, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Although it is a preventable disease, in Argentina only the 31% of people with risk factor’s Have any of the available studies been conducted for early detection of colon cancer.
Check up your colon is a free online platform, created by Argentine doctors, which will be launched today and which contains two smart calculators that will make it possible to influence different levels of prevention of colon cancer.
This smart tool allows each individual to know when and how to begin controls according to your background and also what habits can be modified to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
Read more: World Colon Cancer Day: how to prevent and treat the second most frequent tumor in Argentina
The first of these calculators allows the user to know when and how to start with the prevention studies according to their family background and, in addition, it can alert you to the presence of symptom Digestive disorders that require immediate medical consultation.
The second is based on a questionnaire that inquires about the age, weight and heightas well as in the habitswhich makes it possible to detect modifiable lifestyle changes that help reduce the risk of developing the disease.
“With Check up your colon We seek to give the population a leading role: on the one hand, by allowing them to detect habits that can increase the risk of developing cancer and provide them with ideas to reduce it; and on the other, by offering him the possibility of calculate your personal risk of colorectal cancer and inform you how and when to start with check-ups”, explained its creators, doctors Lisandro Pereyra and Leandro Steinberg.
Unlike other malignant tumors, colon cancer is one of the most preventable.
Through simple analyses, such as the fecal occult blood test or one colonoscopy, it is possible to detect the tumor when it is still asymptomatic, small and easier to treat; or better yet, you can find the polyp and extract it, which cuts the chain that could lead to cancer.
However, according to the fourth National Survey of Risk Factors carried out in 2019, only 31% of the population at risk had undergone any of these preventive studies.
