Even generalized colon cancer does not cause symptoms for a long time: its early detection is recommended

Cancer detected

Marjanas Pleskačiauskas, 47, from Vilnius. He was recently operated on by doctors for stage II colon cancer. Although the man feels bad now, the treatment is not over yet; you will have to visit doctors who will decide whether to give you chemotherapy.

About a year ago, the man started bleeding from the large intestine, thought he had relapsed from previously operated hemorrhoids, and began to follow a diet. The disease subsided, but she soon started bleeding again. He then went to his outpatient clinic, but due to the coronavirus quarantine, they were unable to perform a colonoscopy, to examine the intestine from the inside.

Finally, when she started bleeding even more, Marjan went to a private medical center where she was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer. Soon the man was operated.

“If I had been tested a year ago, I probably would not have had stage I cancer, which is easier to treat,” says M. Pleskačiauskas.

The reasons are completely unknown

Head of the Gastroenterology Clinic, Kaunas Clinic, Hospital of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences prof. Juozas Kupčinskas states that, like many cancers, the cause of colon cancer is completely unknown.

About 5 percent. cases are caused by inheritance: family cases in which cancer occurs at a young age and in several people in the same family. Currently, there are international guidelines that recommend close follow-up and screening of the relatives of these patients. However, the professor emphasizes that it is also well known that the main factor in the development of colon cancer is being overweight. According to the professor, it has been proven that the Mediterranean diet, rich in fiber, vegetables and low in red meat, contributes to the prevention of this cancer.

“The main recipe for not getting sick is moderation,” says the professor.

Another factor in colon cancer is smoking.

“These are two factors that we can control to prevent cancer,” says prof. J. Kupčinskas.

It does not cause symptoms for a long time.

Colon cancer does not cause symptoms for a long time.

“A person can have advanced cancer and feel normal,” says the president of the Lithuanian Association of Surgeons, prof. Kęstutis Strupas.

For this reason, a colon cancer early detection program was launched 12 years ago. According to the program, all Lithuanian people aged 50 to 74 must undergo a fecal occult blood test once every two years. This test is sent by a family doctor. If blood is present, that person undergoes a colonoscopic examination.

2009 Early Colon Cancer Early Detection Program, which started operating in 2019, was the last of all cancer detection programs launched in Lithuania, people are slow to participate in it; in 2019, only 260.6 thousand people participated in it. Lithuanians, although almost a million had to participate.

The professor believes that better results will be obtained when patients are invited to be examined electronically: they will no longer be called by a nurse, but will receive messages and have a digital record. Everyone will receive not only an invitation to register, but also a reminder. If you don’t come to check, you’ll get another one – a strong reminder.

“This will gently motivate the public to pay attention to the fact that prevention is much more important than treatment of an established disease,” says prof. K. Strupas.

“The program is for people who feel completely healthy. An examination is performed and the stool looks for blood from the invisible blood, which may indicate that a person has a precancerous disease or cancer. Algimantas Tamelis. “Those who experience the slightest symptoms should see a doctor immediately.”

The most accurate research

“Colonoscopy is the most accurate test that can detect not only cancer, but also cancerous changes,” says prof. A. Tamelis.

Colonoscopy is an examination of the intestines from the inside with a special endoscope device.

For the vast majority of patients, colon cancer begins in the polyps stage. Removal of polyps protects the patient from cancer. According to data from health insurance funds, in 2019, of the 4,367 people who had a biopsy taken for further examination at a colonoscopy, only 6.2 percent had cancer.

This study can be done not only in a hospital where patients with intestinal diseases are treated, but also in larger primary care centers. Now, the test is usually performed under general anesthesia, so the patient does not feel anything.

Can recover

Vilnius University Hospital Santara Clinic Center for Oncosurgery and Abdominal doctor prof. Tomas Poškus says that if the tumor is caught early, the patient can recover. If the cancer is diagnosed in stage I-II, the chances of recovery are 90 percent, if it is in stage III, about 50 percent survive for five years and IV, only 20 percent. patients.

“The worst thing is that two-thirds of people are now diagnosed with stage III-IV cancer. Normally these people do not come to us according to the program,” says Prof. T. Poškus adds that about half of the people do not come. to a colonoscopy after being diagnosed with secret bleeding in the intestine, although it is necessary to do it: and etc. “

When doctors diagnose colon cancer, treatment tactics are discussed primarily by physicians of various specialties: an oncologist, radiologist, surgeon, and radiation therapist.

The most common solution, whenever possible, is surgery, as it removes the tumor. Teacher. According to K. Strupas, now open surgery is becoming a rarity, about 85 percent. operations are performed laparoscopically. After surgery, the tumor is examined to see if it is angry and it is decided whether the patient should receive chemotherapy.

If surgery is not possible and the disease is locally advanced, chemotherapy or sometimes chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy is prescribed. The goal of this treatment is to shrink the tumor and metastases so that the tumor and metastases can be removed later during surgery. If the disease has spread throughout the body, only chemotherapy is used to prolong the life of the patient.

“Colon cancer is a disease that no one should die from now, because risk factors can be controlled, precancerous diseases can be found and cured, there are methods for early cancer detection and even methods to control advanced cancer. “, says prof. . A. Tamelis.

However, every year about 1,600 new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed in Lithuania, but about 1,000 people die from this cancer. The reason for this is that patients do not participate in the colon cancer early detection program and do not seek medical care in a timely manner.