Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month: Rising Incidence and Treatment Options Explained by Specialist

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) celebrates March each year as “Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month”. and bowel cancer patients to provide the latest information to fight bowel cancer together.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in Hong Kong, accounting for 15.3% of the total number of new cancer cases in 2021, with a total of 5,899 cases has been increasing for 39 years and is he has attracted the attention of all The people who were present at the speech that day were very enthusiastic and they listened carefully Explanation by the host Dr. Yang Shanru, a specialist in clinical oncology.

Dr. Yang Shanru pointed out at the lecture that about 75% of colorectal cancers have no obvious cause However, obesity, smoking, and more alcohol and meat are thought to be the reasons for the increase in the incidence of cancer and mortality in many Asians. countries.

Colorectal cancer is a cancer that originates in the colon or rectum mainly caused by abnormal tissue growth (called polyps) in the colon or rectum detection rate, higher than 50% of the cases already in stage 3 to 4 when it was diagnosed, with symptoms such as blood / black / mucus in the stool, persistent discomfort in the lower intestine (abdominal bloating and cramping), the feeling tired and weak, At this time, the cancer cells have metastasized, the chance of being cured is low, and the 5-year survival rate of stage 4 patients is only 9.3%.

In terms of treatment, tumor resection is performed in all stages 0 to 3 with the aim of radical therapy. For patients with stage 3 colorectal cancer, the chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) alone can reduce the risk of death by 10% to 15%; the use of combination therapy containing oxaliplatin can further reduce the risk of death by 4%; to 5%. For patients with low-risk stage 3 colorectal cancer, efficacy is similar to 3 months of capecitabine and oxaliplatin chemotherapy combination therapy (CAPOX) to 6 months of treatment. In addition, preoperative adjuvant treatment (radiation therapy (electrotherapy) and chemotherapy) for high-risk rectal cancer can help improve survival rates and disease control.

In the case of metastatic colorectal cancer, if it spreads widely, local treatments such as surgery or electrotherapy can no longer achieve radical therapy including targeted drugs and chemotherapy drugs and immunotherapy.

Improve nutrition before treatment

Many cancer patients fear the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea/vomiting, loss of appetite, mouth sores, etc., and at least one third of patients experience weight loss due to lack of nutrition. Dr. Yang Shanru recommends that patients supplement their nutrition before treatment and increase their daily protein and energy intake.

Colorectal cancer is a lifestyle cancer. even if you are not a cancer patient, this is also a healthy lifestyle at the same time, regular stool occult blood tests and colonoscopy can detect and treat bowel cancer early. Immediately after the question and answer session explained by Dr. Yang, the lecture came to a successful conclusion. All participants reported having a deeper understanding of bowel cancer.