;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=medium&hash=367140a6c19e182b032366336b8461480e56fe4f41e6df7c116ed33662b862d9 "5 colon cancer myths you should know – and what is really true")
“Only old people get that”: 5 colon cancer myths that you should know – and what’s really true
Many are afraid of cancer. However, few people take precautionary measures. Doctors recommend a check-up, especially for colon cancer. Because: If detected early, the malignant growths can be treated very well. It is a common myth that colon cancer only affects old people.
Cancer is still the second leading cause of death in Germany. And still too few people take preventive care. This also applies to the particularly effective and simple colon cancer screening. She can often identify malignant tumors and their precursors even before they cause any problems. The prejudice There’s no point in taking precautions is nonsense. The Felix Burda Foundation explains which beliefs this still applies to.
1. “Precaution does not concern me. I don’t have any problems with the intestines.”
This is a dangerous mistake. Then Colon cancer usually does not cause any symptoms for a long time. You can feel healthy and still have colon cancer. However, prevention means undergoing an examination without symptoms. Because once symptoms are present, it is often too late for a cure.
If there is no known risk factor, for men over the age of 50 and women over the age of 55 a preventive colonoscopy is recommended.
Alternatively, an immunological stool test can be carried out from the age of 50, which detects blood in the stool and thus signs of colon cancer or preliminary stages. If there are one or more risk factors (e.g. colon cancer in the family or visible blood in the stool), screening should start earlier. The health insurance companies cover the costs.
2. “There’s no point in taking precautions.”
But on the contrary. More and more people are taking the chance to fight cancer and are opting for free, statutory colon cancer screening. Around 540,000 policyholders do this every year. A smart decision. Prevention is harmless, but cancer can destroy your life.
3. “Only older people get colon cancer.”
Unfortunately it is false. Although the risk of colorectal cancer increases significantly from the age of 50, the cancer can also appear at a younger age, for example if there is a family history of colorectal cancer. So get sick more and more young people are getting colon cancer. In Germany it is every year around 3400 people under the age of 50. Even if a relative has colon cancer or precancerous lesions (adenomas), the risk of all direct relatives doubles.
If there is more than one case of colorectal cancer in the family or if the cancer appeared before the age of 50, the risk for direct relatives is three to four times higher than for the general population. Those affected should then have a colonoscopy performed earlier. The first preventive colonoscopy should be no later than 10 years before the age at which colorectal cancer or colon polyps were diagnosed in a family member.
If three or more family members have colon cancer and other cancers have also occurred in the family (stomach, ovarian, uterine or ureter cancer), there may be a special hereditary form of colon cancer (Lynch syndrome/HNPCC). Close relatives then have a particularly high risk of developing bowel cancer in young adulthood. In this case, precautionary measures are already in place for the direct relatives from the age of 25 years to recommend.
4. “A colonoscopy hurts!”
That’s not true either, and you’re sleeping while you’re doing it. Die colonoscopy is carried out on an outpatient basis by a gastrointestinal doctor. During the examination, which lasts about 20 minutes, the patient lies covered on a couch. On request, he will receive a short-sleep injection. This is not an anesthetic, the patient simply falls into a short, light twilight sleep.
In this way, he does not feel any pain during the entire examination. The examination is carried out by a specialist (gastroenterologist/gastrointestinal doctor, specialist internist with a focus on gastroenterology).
5. “I eat healthy and exercise – nothing can happen to me.”
Also a fallacy. Even if I eat healthy, don’t smoke, don’t eat meat, and exercise, I can get colon cancer. With a healthy lifestyle, only the general risk can be minimized somewhat. However, this does not provide protection in the sense of security.
If rule of thumb The following applies: With a healthy lifestyle, I can not only do something good for myself in general, but also reduce my risk of diseases such as colon cancer. A bad lifestyle without enough exercise, with lots of alcohol and fried food increases mine risk of developing colon cancer on the other hand clearly.
A notice: Just like FOCUS Online, the Felix Burda Foundation belongs to Hubert Burda Media.