New studies show that screening can prevent colon cancer from happening, and regular exercise and fish diet could improve a colon cancer patient's odds of avoiding relapse.
A recenly study by the Yale Cancer Center states that screening for colorectal cancer can save lives. It shows that the rate of colorectal cancer was reduced due to the increase of screening between 1976 and 2009. It then concludes that with the introduction of screenings, it has lessened the number of colorectal cancer cases by 550,000 within that 30-year period.
Dr. Joseph Fiorito, Memorial Sloan Kettering's hospital chief of gastroenterology, said: "We had been seeing studies from Memorial Sloan Kettering showing that polyps in the colon develop into cancer. We sent out mailings and spoke to groups that might consider colonoscopies outside their cultural traditions."
Dr. James Yu, the Yale study's senior author and assistant professor of therapeutic radiology, added: "Half a million is a big number. If half million cancers are prevented, that's half a million families that don't have to endure the pain of cancer diagnosis."
There is also a new study that says having daily exercise and fish diet can help colon cancer patients raise their chances of avoiding a relapse.
As reported on Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting Chicago, the likelihood of patients relapsing doubles if they eat fish less than twice a week or if they don't exercise for an hour a week.
Dr. Mohammed Shaik, a fellow at Michigan State University's Breslin Cancer Center, said: "Once somebody is diagnosed with colon cancer, they may think there is nothing they can do to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We show they can help prevent a recurrence."
The American Cancer Society said that about 135,000 new cases of colorectal cancer occur in the United States alone every year. It is estimated that 50,000 Americans will die of it this year.
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