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Colon cancer warning
Screening tests for those aged 40 years and above can help avoid suffering from bowel cancer
Rosli Ahmad , 39 , ( not his real name ) usually defecates at least three times a day , but over the past few months has changed his routine and thinks he has constipation .
When seeing a doctor , he was advised to take care of his diet and take more fiber , but still had problems defecating and most annoyingly , his stools had traces of blood .
Then Rosli met a specialist at a private hospital and after several tests he was diagnosed with colon cancer or stage three colon cancer .
Similarly , a patient known as Lim , 40 , was diagnosed with early stage colon cancer after doubting his health after his father died of prostate cancer .
Lim immediately underwent screening at the hospital and doctors found that a polyp in his intestines had grown and become cancerous . Fortunately , it was a second stage tumour that could be treated .
The case of Rosli and Lim is among the thousands of colon cancer patients in the country .
Based on 2016 reports , colon cancer is the second leading cause of death and the most common malignancy in men in Malaysia .
Data shows colon cancer affects 21.2 percent of 100,000 men and 18 percent of 100,000 women in the country .
Initial filtering Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur , Consultant Colorectal Surgeon , Datuk Dr Meheshinder Singh , said most patients with colorectal cancer present in the later stages of 3 and above .
Hence , the importance of early detection which can be done through screening tests . Since we have a tendency of seeing cancers at earlier age as compared to Western countries , screening for colorectal cancer is necessary for those aged 45 and above .
Symptoms of colon cancer Dr Meheshinder said that patients who present with symptoms often have an advanced cancer .
Colorectal cancer symptoms may vary depending upon the location of the tumor . Tumors on the left side of the colon or the rectum may present with bleeding per rectum , or blood mixed with stools , altered bowel habits , passage of mucus , pain in the anus , weight loss . Whereas , right sided tumors , would usually have symptoms related to lack of blood or Fe deficiency anaemia such as lethargy , malaise , shortness of breath , reduced effort tolerance , loss of appetite , weight loss , abdominal mass .
Once patients present with any of these red flag symptoms , they should have a colonoscopy to confirm the diagnosis .
Unhealthy lifestyle Dr Meheshinder said there are several environmental
or lifestyle factors that can increase one ’ s risk for colorectal cancer
“ Too much consumption of red meat , processed meat , overcooking or barbequing meet and a diet lacking in fiber are contributory factors .
“ Obesity and lack of exercise increase the risk of getting the disease ,” he said .
Methods of treatment Main mode of treatment is surgical resection which entails removal of the segment of bowel with a good margin beyond the cancer and its draining lymph nodes .
Other modalities include adjunct therapies using chemo , radio and even immunotherapy in selective cases .
Bowel cancer screening In addition , Dr Meheshinder said , the hospital is currently conducting a pilot study on assessing the detection of colorectal cancers or adenomatous polyps using Fecal Immunochemical Testing ( FIT ) for individuals aged 45 and above . The FIT test is to look for occult blood ( not visible to naked eye ) in the stool .
“ This test is free of charge and we are targeting about 1,500 people for this study .”
Hospital Contact Details : Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur 8 , Jalan Bukit Pantai 59100 Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia Tel : + 603 2296 0888 ( General Line ) Tel : + 603 2296 0706 ( International Patient Centre ) Website : www . pantai . com . my / kuala-lumpur Email : my . phkl . ipc @ parkwaypantai . com / my . phkl @ parkwaypantai . com
“ Early-stage colorectal cancers are generally symptomless , hence , it ’ s important to screen those aged 45 years and above .”
Datuk Dr Meheshinder Singh , Consultant Colorectal Surgeon
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com AUGUST 2021
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