#ColorectalCancer: Awareness saves lives

European Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (ECCAM) in March aims to give citizens tools to understand how to avoid colorectal cancer.   

Every year 450,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) in Europe and around 215,000 will die from the disease. Most patients are over 50 years of age when cancer becomes a more likely issue in peoples lives: signs and symptoms. 

A new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows that while generally colorectal cancer diagnoses in the US are declining, there is a noticeable, though small, increase in younger people being diagnosed. Authors of the study suggest one explanation might be a complex interaction involving the same factors that have contributed to the obesity epidemic - changes in diet, a sedentary lifestyle, excess weight and low fibre consumption.

Colorectal cancer is highly treatable with good survival opportunity if diagnosed early. Surgery is the first line treatment and results in cure in approximately 50% of the patients.

Understanding the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer are a good start for citizens, but the European Commission recommends all member states implement a Formal Population Screening Programme (FPSP, a centralized program under the auspices of the Health Ministry offering all eligible citizens a screening test).

Unfortunately compliance with the few established programmes is highly variable and in some cases weak. As with many cancers there are clear risk factors that could prevent growth of tumours.

It is estimated that in the UK, 54% of CRC are linked to major lifestyle or other risk factor while approximately 10-15% of cases are hereditary2. It is not unusual for 10 years to pass between exposure to external factors and detectable cancer.

Your health is your responsibility.

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