Colon and rectal cancer cases are going up among people younger than age 50 | Hacker News Reader

Colon and rectal cancer cases are going up among people younger than age 50

cnn.com

23 pointsfortran7716 comments

Yesterday Chadwick Bozeman, the actor who played Black Panther in the Marvel movies among other notable movies, died of colon cancer at age 43. He was diagnosed in 2016 and it progressed from stage 3 to stage 4 in that time. Obviously anecdata but perhaps his death will call some attention to this because of his relative youth and fame and not be in vain.

https://ew.com/movies/chadwick-boseman-dead-black-panther-42...

In Ontario (Canada) the government automatically contacts you to obtain a free FIT kit when you turn 50.

I just did mine, and it came back "abnormal" (which is a descriptor I've lived with all my life). Needless to say I'm hoping it's nothing, but it is wise to get tested for such things as soon as you reach each risk milestone in life.

Hoping it's nothing buddy! Best wishes

Thanks. I know other people have gone through exactly this and came out alright, so I'm keeping my mind in that direction. There are a number of things that can trigger abnormal FIT results, but of course the value is in subsequently discovering what is causing that to occur, even if it ends up a non-emergency, and then dealing with it before it can become one.

best of luck

hope it's nothing

my grandfather had something bad around 70, so i'm hoping it's not genetic. anyways, a long time until i have to worry about it

If you are feeling apprehensive and delaying it, you should know that getting a colonoscopy is a painless experience. In and out in a few hours.

Absolutely painless. The “worst” part is having to drink enough water (with laxative and electrolytes) to clean your system for a clear view. I just had mine done and I was way more more anxious then I needed to be. Now I feel silly for being so worried about it.

This is good news. I'm going for one in a couple weeks, so of course I'm a tad nervous about it all. I don't normally get poked around like that. It's not the greatest rite of passage.

My mother had one done when I was a kid. I only remember her being absolutely humiliated by the "air" on the trip home - as children we couldn't not giggle about that particular after-effect. Even back then it was an out-patient ordeal. She did say it was like going to the dentist - scary but otherwise a breeze! (her pun, not mine...)

To be more accurate though - it used to be a lot worse than it is now. Even as recently as a decade ago the stuff they gave you to drink to clear you out was much more ... what's the word... let's say unpleasant. They now have stuff that is just as effective clearing everything out but without such unpleasant sensations...

>ACS researchers found that the rate at which people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the United States is dropping among those 65 and older but rising in younger adults.

Could it be that more young people are taking screenings, while those already taking them have decreased risk of cancer?

No, according to the scientists I've heard. The increase in testing does not explain the dramatic increase in cases. There are a few hypotheses, but so far nothing concrete.

Is a 2.2% increase “dramatic”? Is it even statistically significant?

Yeah I’ve heard the same - also in contrast to the relative uselessness of early detection of prostate cancer, finding early colorectal is actually actionable and important.

Is there an easy to get medical test for all different kinds of cancers etc.? Maybe an MRI?

It's not recommended to get what are called full body scans - one of the main reasons is all the false positives and unnecessary alarms it causes. Most of us have some artifacts that will show up on various scans and will look exactly the same next year and next decade.

On the other hand, many tumors are now discovered incidentally when getting a scan for something else. That tends to also cause higher anxiety levels, but at the same time allows addressing a real issue at a much earlier stage.

Some cancer screening (such as for prostate) is generally done through blood test. Colorectal cancer screening has the "benefit" of the doctor being able to get a front-row-center view. And some are detected by mri or even straight-up x-ray. There all quite different, as is the expertise needed for diagnosis.

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