Taiwan’s number one cancer by far is colorectal cancer. Last week during the Formosa Cancer Foundation’s screening event for colorectal cancer it was discovered that nearly 60 percent of people who underwent colonoscopies had polyps, which were eventually removed. It is also worth mentioning that during the event as many as 51 percent of people between the ages of 30 and 39 were found to have polyps, while up to 64 percent of people aged 40 to 49 also had the lumps.
Foundation chief executive officer Lai Gi-ming says that there are five indispensable ways for people to work at preventing colorectal cancer — children, women and men should eat five, seven and nine servings of fruit and vegetables a day respectively, and exercise regularly, control body weight, stay away from cigarette smoke and periodically have medical checkups. Switching to a healthier lifestyle is the only way to diminish the threat of colorectal cancer, Lai says.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Lai says that 14,040 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2010, meaning that approximately every 37 minutes one person in Taiwan was diagnosed with the cancer. Due to the accelerated rate at which people in Taiwan are being diagnosed with the cancer, the foundation held its event for fighting against polyps for a fourth consecutive year, encouraging Taiwanese to be vigilant about getting screened for the cancer.
Photo: Wei Yi-chia, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者魏怡嘉
Among the 4,511 people who registered for last year’s polyp-screening event, Lai says that 701 of them received colonoscopies and 403 were found to have polyps — a discovery rate of 57 percent. Thirteen of those found to have polyps were already in the early stages of colorectal cancer. The survival rate for people with Stage I colorectal cancer is as high as 90 percent, which Lai says shows how important it is to get screened during the early stages.
It usually takes 10 to 15 years for colorectal cancer to go from being a disorder to metastasizing and becoming cancerous tissue, Lai says. Receiving a fecal occult blood test every one to two years can reduce colorectal cancer-related deaths by between 18 and 33 percent, Lai says. An analysis of data from this most recent event shows that only 9 percent of people aged 30 to 39 who were found to have polyps had a family history of colorectal cancer, which means that colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer are significantly related to diet and lifestyle choices, Lai says.
Family history is no longer the sole indicator that a person should undergo early testing for colorectal cancer, Lai says, adding that if you enjoy eating red meat, high-calorie foods and foods with high levels of animal fat, the prescribed age for screening should be earlier than usual.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
大腸癌為台灣頭號癌症,台灣癌症基金會上週舉辦大腸癌篩檢活動,發現有近六成接受大腸鏡檢查的民眾有瘜肉並切除。值得注意的是,三十至三十九歲的族群發現到瘜肉的比例達百分之五十一,四十至四十九歲比例更高達百分之六十四。
台灣癌症基金會執行長賴基銘指出,預防大腸癌的不二法門,就是全民練「5」功,也就是「蔬果彩虹579」、「規律運動」、「控制體重」、「遠離菸害」及「定期篩檢」,唯有透過調整健康生活型態才能夠遠離大腸癌威脅。
賴基銘表示,根據衛福部統計,二0一0年大腸癌發生人數一萬四千四十人,大約每三十七分鐘中就有一人罹患大腸癌,有鑑於國人大腸癌發生率快速竄升,台灣癌症基金會今年連續四年主辦「追捕瘜肉小子大作戰」活動,鼓勵國人力行大腸癌篩檢。
賴基銘指出,去年參與追捕瘜肉活動共有四千五百十一位民眾報名,其中有七百零一位民眾接受大腸鏡檢查,有四百零三位民眾成功地追捕到瘜肉,發現率高達百分之五十七,其中更有十三人屬於早期大腸癌,而第一期大腸癌存活率高達百分之九十,顯示早期篩檢的重要性。
賴基銘表示,大腸癌從異常病變癌化為癌症組織,通常需要十至十五年的時間,若能每一至兩年定期接受糞便潛血檢查,約可以降低百分之十八至三十三的大腸癌死亡率;透過這次活動的數據分析,三十至三十九歲被追捕到瘜肉的族群中,僅百分之九有家族史,顯示大腸瘜肉及大腸癌的發生與後天飲食及生活型態都息息相關。
賴基銘強調,有家族史不再是大腸癌提早篩檢的唯一指標,若是屬於愛吃紅肉、高熱量及高動物脂肪食物的族群,篩檢年齡都應該提前。
(自由時報記者魏怡嘉)
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