Colon Polyps and Colon Cancer
Colon cancer is one of the leading cancers in the United States today along with lung and breast cancer.
Most important however, is that colon cancer is one of the cancers that can be cured. Annually about 150.000 people get colon cancer and out of these people about 60,000 people die from it. To detect polyps in the colon a colonoscopy is the method of choice for doctors.
The tool used to perform a colonoscopy is a long, thin tube with a camera at the tip that is inserted at the anus. This tool gives a high resolution picture of the colon as it is being passed through and can also cut out polyps for biopsy. The colon is 6 to 8 feet long and the tool used in the colonoscopy runs through the entire length of the colon.
It has been shown in medical evidence that an abnormal gene can be passed from parent to child for colon polyps and colon cancer. Colon cancer begins in the lining of the colon within the cells contained there.
A growth that can come about in the colon and other organs is called a polyp. They look like a mushroom or a dome shape and are basically fleshy tumors that grow on the lining of the colon. The size varies and can range from the size of a pea to the size of a plum.
Colon polyps do start out as being benign but over time some polyps can become malignant. The bigger the polyp is the more chance of cancer cells being present. These polyps are normally discovered at the time a colonoscopy is performed and can be removed at that time safely and easily.
There are several factors that contribute to the risk of having colon cancer and these include Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, breast cancer history, being older then 40 years, diet and western living, and family history of polyps or colon cancer.
It is important for everyone to have their colonoscopy as ofter as the doctor says you should as there are not really any symptoms.
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