Preventing Colorectal Cancer

COLORECTAL CANCER

Prevention of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer affects approximately 1 in 20 Australians. You can reduce, significantly, the risks of bowel cancer by:

1. Improving Diet

Reduce dietary fat. Increase fruit and vegetables, in particular, cruciferous vegetables (bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower). You should reduce the amounts of beer consumption, although moderate wine consumption may reduce your risks of bowel cancer. If you wish to take a supplement, then consider calcium, folic acid and possibly selenium vitamins which may reduce the risk of bowel cancer by 30-40%.
2. Increasing physical activity and stop smoking.

Increasing physical activity and stop smoking
3. Regular faecal occult blood testing.

Regular faecal occult blood testing.
4. Regular screening colonoscopy with removal of polyps.

Regular screening colonoscopy with removal of polyps will reduce your risks of bowel cancer by 80-90%. The frequency of this depends on your family history and whether you have had polyps in the past.

You should have a colonoscopy performed if you develop symptoms of bleeding from the bowel, anaemia, change in bowel habit, especially a recent one or recent onset of abdominal pain.

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What does a Gastroenterologist do?

A gastroenterologist is a physician who has specialised training and experience in managing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract the stomach, intestines, oesophagus, liver, pancreas, colon and rectum.

The training involves more than five years of additional education in internal medicine and gastroenterology following medical school. This includes training in endoscopy the use of narrow, flexible lighted tubes with built-in video cameras used to see the inside of the GI tract.

A gastroenterologist often undertakes: