Preventive measures
are the measures taken to prevent colon cancer. There are two types of
measures: primary and secondary.
The primary preventive
measure consists of modifying our lifestyle and the second consists of
detecting the illness in its early stages through a simple faecal occult blood
test.
PRIMARY PREVENTIVE MEASURE.
CHANGING LIFESTYLE.
1. Diet.
- Have a diet rich in fibre, fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts.
- Ensure that we reduce the ingestion of meats that are red, processed, cured or rich in saturated fats such as sausages, cold meats, etc.
- However, no link has been found between the ingestion of white meats (turkey, chicken) and colon cancer.
- Decrease the ingestion of meats that are fried or cooked directly in fire as much as possible.
2. Maintaining a
healthy weight.
This measure is more
pertinent for men due to the higher risk that they have of accumulating fat
within their waistline, which is in turn, the most dangerous type of fat there
is.
3. Stop smoking.
4. Stop or decrease
the ingestion of alcohol.
5. Complete physical
exercise.
Walking at a fast pace
for a minimum of thirty minutes per day.
Changing lifestyle is
very important because it not only helps to prevent the emergence of colon
cancer, but also helps to improve the quality of life of patients suffering
from it and additionally, helps to decrease the recurrence of treated cancer.
SECONDARY PREVENTIVE MEASURE.
FAECAL OCULT BLOOD TEST.
The faecal occult
blood test is one of the most important tests used to detect colon cancer in
its early stages in healthy people without symptoms. This test is conducted by
simply taking a faecal sample to find occult blood within them.
It is recommended that
this test be conducted in people around the age of fifty. This test will be conducted
in ages younger than fifty, in people that have colon pathologies, familial
polyposis or a family history of colon cancer (parents, brothers, sisters,
etc.).
A colonoscopy will be
conducted if the result of the test comes back positive and if the result comes
back negative, then the test will be repeated a year or two later.
WARNING
People that present inflammatory colon diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, will need to undertake frequent colonoscopies due to them presenting a higher risk of developing colon cancer. People with irritable colon have the same risk of suffering from colon cancer than the general population therefore, faecal occult blood tests are only conducted as a preventative measure.
Dr. J. Hurtado Martínez
Medical Director of
HealthSalus
