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Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

dynomight.net

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Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#131
post #42

Had my first colonoscopy 4 months ago, after going for a couple of years with every red flag symptom under the sun. The procedure was a piece of cake. As the standard is where I'm from (Norway), I was only administered some sedatives - but honestly I couldn't feel much difference. I watched the procedure on the screen, which was quite fascinating. The worst part, by far, was the emptying / prepping. A month prior to…

My doctor recommended a combination FIT+DNA test instead of colonoscopy (brand name "Cologuard"). She said it's not quite as good as the "gold standard" colonoscopy, but it also doesn't have the risks of colonoscopy. And the FIT+DNA test is so cheap and easy, you can do it every year or three instead of every 10 years with the colonoscopy. She still recommends colonoscopies for high-risk patients, but she thinks the…

Kinda annoying that the minimum age is 45 and its explicitly not for high risk individuals though. Like you would think having a non-invasive test would be incredibly important for that.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#132
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad you’re feeling better, but you could have just stopped at increase fiber intake and decrease red meat and alcohol consumption. None of the rest is linked to colorectal cancer, certainly not mayonaise, which is just oil and egg.

I've explained why I don't have mayonnaise. Also it was just an example. I avoid it because I can eat more meaningful stuff without bombing my calories and saturated fats stats. The mayonnaise I find in the shops has terrible composition.

There are brands of "mayo" and other products that contain some emulsifying agents that have been observed to deteriorate the mucus membrane in the colon, and that effect is believed to increase the risk of colon cancer.

I haven't heard about any risk with the natural emulsifier in egg yolk though.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#133

"None of the experts seem to agree on which of these is the culprit, so I figured that I (person with blog) should help." In case you aren't aware of dynomight yet, there is a great backlog of posts to read.

His other blog about colonoscopies is even better (linked in the post). Id read them again on other topics.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does insurance see it this way? I've had a couple precancerous moles (melanoma in situ) removed, which seems similar, and my health insurance provider billed me more than I was expecting because they didn't categorize it as preventive care.

I did a colonoscopy at 38, because I saw something in the toilet that looked like the lingonberries at Ikea. Everyone was like "Man that seems early" but when I woke up, the doctor expressed some surprise when he told me they removed a couple of polyps. A week or two later, I got a bill for several thousand dollars, and I just had to roll with it. I believe that in the US, there is a certain age, after which, they're…

Not ideal but better a couple thousand bucks than cancer... but seriously, especially if they actually found something worrying like polyps, the insurance shouldn't even get a say.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#137

Had my first colonoscopy 4 months ago, after going for a couple of years with every red flag symptom under the sun. The procedure was a piece of cake. As the standard is where I'm from (Norway), I was only administered some sedatives - but honestly I couldn't feel much difference. I watched the procedure on the screen, which was quite fascinating. The worst part, by far, was the emptying / prepping. A month prior to…

It is likely that your friend could have a genetic disposition for colon cancer. He should get a gene test once he has recovered.

I was the same age. My doctor saw signs in an early blood test, and followed it up so mine got detected relatively early. My test was positive for Lynch syndrome, and I am now a colonoscopy veteran.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#138
post #73

Seeing young adults around me going through this made me change my dietary habits 1 year ago. I went to the extreme by modern food industry standards, but now: - I take 100g proteins, 30g fibers daily - Red meat once a week but never fried - Most of the protein comes from eggs, yoggurt, chicken and various plant based sources - No white bread - No added sugars, no deserts except fruits - Nothing fried - No added salt…

I think the hard part for me about doing something like that is not forgoing those things, it's figuring out what to eat instead. Any tips?

The simple answer is plants. Lots of fruits and vegetables, and pulses (beans, legumes, etc) for protein.

Re: Is "colorectal cancer" rising in "young people"?

#139

I recommend getting a colonoscopy if you have any symptoms. There is a lot of stigma that prevents people from being proactive about this type of issue. My anecdote (M, 35) is that I got one after experiencing symptoms that turned out to be unrelated, but they did find pre-cancerous polyps so now I will be getting them more regularly. I received received meaningful early detection and peace of mind. Also aside from t…

> if you have any symptoms

What kinds of symptoms are people actually seeing? Or, without graphic details of your bowel habits, is this a "you'd know it when you see it" type of situation, where it would probably be obvious?

WebMD just says: change in bowel habits, blood in stool (would this be obvious?), anemia (how would you notice this?), unusual gas (uh, what is normal?), unexplained weight loss, fatigue, vomiting?

Unexplained weight loss and vomiting seem obvious, but the rest I'm not sure I'd even notice.

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