What Is Colon Cancer?

Colon or colorectal cancer is a tumour of the large intestine. Like most cancers, this one also has certain risk factors and genetic predispositions. Unfortunately, colon cancer is frequently diagnosed in Singapore, with over 9,000 cases reported between the years 2010 to 2014 alone.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Today, medical advancements in cancer therapy have evolved to the point that colon cancer has become completely curable in a good number of people. With new anti-cancer drugs underway, we hope to see an even better prognosis for this disease.

Till then, it’s important to educate ourselves on the possible risk factors of colon cancer and what we can do to reduce the likelihood of it.

What Are The Risk Factors Associated With Colon Cancer?

Colon cancer has been shown to have an association with a number of risk factors. Some of these include:

· Old age

· African-American ethnicity

· Tobacco smoking

· Family history of colon cancer or polyps

· Low-fiber, high-fat diet

· Obesity

· Inflammatory bowel disease

Although some of these risk factors are beyond our control, there are many that can be modified to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Taking care of your general health by incorporating a high fibre diet and keeping your BMI in the healthy range is one way to reduce this risk. Abstaining from smoking and alcohol intake is another important preventive measure.

Treatment for Colon Cancer

The standard treatment for this type of cancer is surgery. However, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have also shown to be effective.

With the latest advancements in the field of cancer therapy, the survival rate for patients with colon cancer has significantly improved.

In a Nutshell…

Colon cancer is a worrisome malignancy that inflicts people of Singapore much more common than in many other parts of the world. This could be because of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, high-fat diets and easy availability of tobacco and alcohol.

Making healthy lifestyle changes can go a long way. Adopting healthy eating and exercise habits can possibly reduce your risk of colorectal cancer.