Fruits, Vegetables and Cancer

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables doesn't help women with breast cancer and it doesn't necessarily reduce the risk of the disease returning.  The same can be said for prostate cancer and other forms of the disease.  But a recent study found, in colorectal cancer, that a diet that relied more on these foods plus whole grains fish and chicken did reduce the recurrence.  Here's our take on it.  We will definitely find that a diet like this helps in all cases, but it is difficult to get a clear association or correlation because diet has so many components and effects.  It also depends on the individual's genetics.  Nevertheless, it shows how we are looking more and more at diet and its role with cancer and other conditions.  That's the point we need to take home.  Diet plays a key role and a crucial role in how we evaluate cancer and other health issues. 

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Preventing Colon Cancer

There are many preventive tests out there, but some are more crucial than others because they can make a dramatic impact.  Take colonoscopy.  One in 20 people will develop colon cancer at some point in their lives and the early detection of polyps is crucial to preventing and controlling it.   Colonoscopy is recommended for everyone over age 50, but for people with a family history of colon cancer, it's recommended at 40.  Colonoscopy is done even earlier if a family member suffered colon cancer at an early age. 

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Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Are Still Low

Colorectal screening rates are still low.  A new study looked at surveys of 13,480 adults aged 50 and older and they found that only 50% had been screened for colon cancer in 2005.  That was an improvement from 43% in 2000, but the authors say the rate needs to increase even more because screening tests have been proven to reduce deaths from the disease.  One of the factors involved may be health insurance coverage.  Of those who are uninsured, only 24.1% were screened compared with more than 50% of the insured.  Other factors that influence the screening rate are education, income, and frequency of physician contract.  The bottom line is this...we strongly recommend colonoscopy as a screening tool.  We know it's embarrassing; we know you're afraid of it, but the bottom line is it's a lot easier to deal with than colon cancer. 

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For more information, please go to www.123MyMD.com.