Colon cancer - one of the most common forms of cancer

Colon cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the U.S., affecting about 130,000 Americans each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Colon cancer is more common than rectal cancer, and more dangerous: About half of colon cancer patients eventually die from the disease because it often isn't detected until the later stages. Due to increased testing, death rates from colorectal cancer have dropped by 25 percent in women and 13 percent in men over the past 20 years. Fortunately, colon cancer is also one of the most curable forms of cancer. When detected early, more than 90 percent of patients can be cured.

As the name suggests, colorectal cancer is cancer of the colon or rectum, which together form the 6-foot-long tube in the digestive tract called the large intestine. This disease begins as a polyp - or fleshy tumor, shaped like a mushroom or a dome-like button - on the inside lining of the colon. Colon polyps start out as benign tumors but in time may become malignant. The larger the polyp, the more likely it is to contain cancer cells. Although they're very common among older people, it is not clear what causes polyps in most cases.

There now is strong medical evidence that there are abnormal genes for colon polyps and cancer that can be passed from parent to child. The genes within each cell are the hereditary structures that tell the cell what it should do. When these controlling genes are absent there is a tendency to grow polyps. The cells in the polyp eventually become uncontrolled and turn into a cancer. Colon cancer also can develop with other conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammation in the colon.

Cancer of the colon is most common after age 50, but on rare occasions, the disease strikes younger people. For unknown reasons, the tumors that develop in young people are often especially fast-growing and likely to spread. Relatives of a person who has had colon cancer at a young age are at a slightly increased risk.

Certain genes also increase the risk of developing numerous polyps in the colon and increase the risk of developing colon cancer at a younger age. Inherited types of colon cancer also exist. Family members of people who develop numerous polyps or colon cancer at an early age can have genetic testing performed.

How can I lower my risk for developing colon cancer?

Doctors believe the best way to lower your risk of colon cancer is to reduce red meat intake, exercise regularly, stop smoking and control your weight. Annual stool testing and other screening methods are also critically important.

Folic acid, and calcium also can lower the risk of colon cancer. Most studies show that as dietary or supplemental intake increases, the risk of both polyps and colon cancer decreases.

Americans are more and more in the know that smoking is highly addictive and destructive, and nowadays there are more former smokers than ever.

Yet, despite the generally accepted (even next to tobacco companies) consciousness that smoking is addictive and that it agent many harmful form effects, about one in five adults and lone in four teens smoke.

While most people would agree that stripling should not smoke, several believe that adults should be free ride to swallow a permitted substance. Nevertheless let’s glad eye at the impact.

This year extra than 200,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer, most exemplar of which are caused beside smoking.

Smoking increases the fate of other cancers as well, including cancers of the oral cavity, throat, voicebox (larynx), esophagus, kidney, bladder, pancreas, cervix, colon and rectum, liver and stomach, as well as a blood cancer.

Additionally, it is a dominant basis of emotions disease, strokes, dementia and lingering lung disease.

Some of the health consequences fall to nonsmokers as a result of worn smoke, according to the Surgeon General’s 2006 report.

Fortunately, the share of Americans with cotinine, the byproduct of nicotine exposure, has fallen alongside 70 percent in the remain decade, on the contrary still so, approximately 40 percent live on to bear measurable cotinine levels, indicating regular exposure to second-hand smoke.

Infant whose dam smoke while pregnant and afterwards carry increased risks for sudden youngster end syndrome, asthma, pneumonia and heed infections.

Treatment of behaviour towards of these problems call for about 20 percent of health-care spending, nearly a half a billion dollars – a cost that all of us bear even if we accomplish not smoke. Lost productivity from smokers' illnesses costs industry money, and this is passed on to us.

Combine to that the millions of dollars prostrate annually on remedy for erectile dysfunction, all the more of which is caused by smoking. Nov.

15, this year’s age for the Great American Smokeout, is a good time to try quitting, even whether it's just for individual day. To avoid withdrawing, there are many nicotine substitutes available with and without prescription, from nicotine gum to lozenges, sprays and patches.

While these do not treat the addiction, at least nicotine replacement products rule out the other toxic products delivered close to tobacco.

Nicotine replacement issue help the tobacco user to unlearn the pattern of dealing with cigarettes, pipes, cigars and chewing tobacco and lay that workman in a first-class position piecemeal to use less nicotine and to drop eventually.

Prescription medications can guidance reduce the thirst that draw near from quitting. Nicotine causes addiction near increasing the immensity of dopamine in the nucleus acumbens or "pleasure center" of the brain.

From http://live.psu.edu/story/27244