Individuals Below 50 are Victims of Colorectal Cancer

The Misery of a Sedentary Lifestyle Has No Limits & Colorectal Cancer as Young as in 20s is Possible

Colorectal cancer is no more a disease of the elderly population where it mostly strikes people above the age of 50! Statistics show that a greater number of individuals even in their 20s and 30s are being affected by the disease and the National Registry of Canada proves without doubt that colorectal cancer rates are multiplying at supersonic jet sped. The United States too reports rapid increase in rates where the percentage of people rose from 10% in 2004 to more than 12% in 2015. Shockingly, a greater number of youth detected (51.6%) with colon cancer are usually in their advanced stages compared to only 40% in older population. It was also predominantly seen in those residing in urban areas compared to rural areas but there was no difference in the increase in rates across all income levels. Highest percentage was diagnosed among highest earners. The trend is growingly increasing in developed countries worldwide.

Colorectal cancer remains the third most common cancer worldwide with more than 1.8 million cases diagnosed and 881,000 deaths linked with this disease alone in the year 2018. Colorectal cancer happens when cells in the colon or rectum grow out of control resulting in a tumor that’s malignant or benign. The cancer generally starts as a small polyp or growth on the innermost layer of the wall of the colon/rectum. The polyp mostly is a benign one but rarely it is malignant taking years together to become so. In case its malignant, the cells can also enter other layers of the colon or rectum, travel through blood or lymph vessels moving to other parts of the body and set up secondary tumors in other parts of the body.

On one side we have good news that colorectal cancer rates are declining in the elderly population, thanks to various screening procedures available and also the awareness that’s been constantly created. Since the introduction of age-based screening in 2006 in Australia, Canada and the UK there is a great decrease in incidence rates. In those countries such as Denmark, Ireland, Norway and New Zealand where screening programs were introduced much later there has not been much reduction in cancer rates. While younger adults are still at a lower risk of colon cancer compared to elderly people, they are likelier to carry an extremely high risk in their 50s and 60s compared to their parents, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Such increase in risk in such young people is predominantly due to sedentary lifestyle behavior and rising obesity rates. Get in touch with nutritionists and dietitians at www.firsteatright.com to come up with effective solutions to fight against weight gain problems, get rid of your sedentary lifestyle and involve in active exercise routines. Also, those with chronic inflammation and type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of the disease. While the cancer presents itself with symptoms such as persistent bloating, cramps, constipation, blood in stool, fatigue and unexplained weight loss both the individual and the doctors mistake these symptoms for some other disease such as irritable bowel syndrome as they don’t even think about cancer at such young years.
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One good news is that the recommended screening age for cancer has been reduced from 50 years to 45 years by the ACS and other countries such as Canada too are looking forward to decrease the screening age but population-based screening in people younger than 45 is not considered to be cost-effective due to evidently low incidence numbers. Family history can give a great insight into the risk for the disease but until the root cause behind the occurrence of cancer at such young ages are found out we cannot come up with effective preventive and early-detection strategies.