![]() ![]() “The key for now is education and that’s not just educating people that are younger, but educating their health care providers that if someone comes in with blood in their stool or some of the symptoms, they might need to move screening for colorectal cancer higher on the differential,” she says. Teitelbaum believes that both patients and primary care physicians need to be aware that colorectal cancer can occur to younger people. So, there are a lot of barriers.”Ĭurrent screening recommendations for colon cancer are, starting at 45, people need to undergo a colonoscopy every 10 years, which recently changed from 50. You have to find someone to give you a ride. ![]() “There are other things that are difficult with (colonoscopies). They are perfectly healthy,” Teitelbaum explains. “A lot of younger patients, people in their 30s, 40s, might not even have a primary care physician. ![]() Other barriers can make it tough for younger people to get a colonoscopy, too, further delaying treatment. Some people feel embarrassed to talk about their bowel movements, even with their doctors, meaning they don't get help as quickly as possible. “It turned out he had rectal cancer and (was) slowly losing blood, and that was the reason.” Brendan Menapace's last chemotherapy treatment lasted for 46 hours and he carried it around in a fanny pack. “I have one younger patient who was a very competitive biker who noticed instead of 100 miles a week, he could only bike 50 miles a week,” she says. But it’s actually really important to pay attention.” “This is a funny point of conversation because people get uncomfortable talking about their bowel movements. Instead of a normal-formed stool, you might have a skinny stool,” she says. You might have a change in what we see in the caliber of your stool. “If it’s on the left side or in the rectum, you may have pain with bowel movements or abdominal pain in general. It's unclear why younger patients see more left-sided problems. Teitelbaum says older patients tend to have more cancer on the right side, which is the ascending colon. “Now we’re seeing this trend towards younger and also more left-sided - the descending colon, sigmoid colon and rectum particularly - and we don’t really know why.” Ursina Teitelbaum, a medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, tells. “Rates were globally going down in older patients with screening, and we also thought this was one of those cancers that are cancers of aging, which is why you didn’t screen somebody until they were 50,” Dr. The reason for the increase remains a mystery. Courtesy Brendan Menapace Colon cancer in young peopleĪ recently published report from the American Cancer Society shows that the rates of colon cancer in young people are increasing. “Because of the way it spread, it wasn’t as simple as just cutting out the tumor or declaring me cancer-free.” Brendan Menapace underwent chemotherapy, radiation and extensive surgery to treat his stage 4 colorectal cancer. “Until you hit that five-year mark, you’re not considered cured or cancer-free,” Menapace says. ![]()
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