The exact reason why colon cancer develops in some persons and not in others is not clear. The incidence of colon cancer is quite varied among different countries and within different ethnic groups inside the same country. Industrialized countries like United States, Canada, UK, Western Europe, Australia and Japan have a much higher incidence of colorectal cancer compared to the less industrialized parts of the world like Asia, Africa, and South America. Colorectal cancer represent over 9 percent of all cancers in men and about 10 percent of all cancers in women world-wide. In industrialized countries the incidence of colorectal cancer can be as high as 12 to 14 of all cancers, and in non-industrialized countries much lower rates of about 7 to 8 percent of all cancers diagnosed may be colorectal cancer.

Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third commonest cancer diagnosed in the United States. Each year over 100,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer and over 50 percent of these patients will die from colorectal cancer. Colon cancer incidence is not much different between males and females, however colon cancer is slightly more prevalent in women compared to men (ratio of 1.2:1) but the rectal cancer is more common in males (ratio of 1.7:1).

Even though we do not know the exact cause of development of colorectal cancer, scientists have recognized several factors that can increase the risk of development of colorectal cancer. A risk factor for a disease is any condition that makes a person more likely to develop that diseases. Some of the risk factors like dietary factors are modifiable by the person involved while some other factors like age are un-modifiable. These risk factors may act in combination, and this combination of risk factors may be associated with cumulative increase in the risk of development of colorectal cancer. The simple presence of one or more risk factors does not necessarily mean that someone will develop colorectal cancer. On the other hand absence of all risk factors does not mean that an individual will not develop colorectal cancer, but generally more risk factors you have higher is the chance of developing colorectal cancer. Environmental factors also may be playing a role in the development of colorectal cancer. People who migrate from areas of low risk to areas of the world with higher risk of developing colorectal cancer, they tend to acquire the risk of the country to which they are migrating. This finding suggests the presence of environmental factors causing higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. Changes in dietary factors associated with migration may also be contributing to this increase in risk associated with migration from low risk areas to higher risk areas.

Risk factors for the development of colorectal cancer include the following:

• Age over 50 years
• Increased fat intake
• Large intestinal polyps
• Family history of colon cancer
• Inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
• Personal history of other cancers
• Sedentary habits and lack of exercise
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Alcohol content
• Genetic colon cancer syndromes like Familial adenomatous polyposis or Hereditary Non-polyposis Colon Cancer (HNPCC)

Persons who have high risk of colorectal cancer may undergo screening for colorectal cancer with colonoscopy once every 2 to 3 years. Screening colonoscopy is recommended for every one who is 50 years or older. If someone has a higher than average risk of developing colorectal cancer, the screening may be initiated earlier than 50 years.

The author is the webmaster for http://medicineworld.org which features many useful articles and news items related to cancer. You can find more information on colon cancer, colon cancer news, and colon cancer treatment at author’s colon cancer page of the website.

Colon Cancer is a killer and about the only way to prevent it from killing you early in life is to detect it in the beginning stages in order to treat it. There are many foods you can eat to keep your colon working well and keep out the bad bacteria build up. Eating right and staying away from vices can help you prevent colon cancer. Here is a concept, which may help kill unwanted harmful bacteria in the colon. This idea stems from the new advances and innovations of UV light to clean water. The only problem is how do you get light where the catch phrase says; “. . . Where the Sun Don’t Shine,” well here is a thought that perhaps some savvy science major, academic or innovative medical entrepreneur might want to look into?

UV Light is being used to kill bacteria in water filtration applications. It works so well many sewer treatment plants are using huge units to clear bacteria out of the water prior to allowing it to re-enter the ground water, river or ocean. Hospitals have also used UV light to kill bacteria; there are indeed so many applications for such technologies. Perhaps we ought to look into a small marble sized battery operated UV light Device. One, which can be ingested to clean out unwanted bacteria in the stomach and potentially prevent cancer as well. The small marble size device will pass thru the entire system into the stool, cleaning as it goes. Then the patient can merely eat some yogurt and other various things to put the good bacteria back into the system. I propose that the marble sized unit UV light flash a the best cycle for good bacteria and/or the worst cycle for bad bacteria. Ranges near or at 5-8 Hz.

There are many super small batteries, which can be used and the unit could be as small as an M & M candy or could be ingested with many of these little guys at a time on a relatively empty stomach. It will clean out the stomach, small intestines, large intestines and the colon using this UV light. It could be a very simple process and very inexpensive. Although it may not sound all too pretty the units could be used over and over again, by washing them in a set of small plastic containers and shaking them up. Similar to the old contact lenses; Saline solution and/or rubbing alcohol and then rinsing, turn them on and re-use or trade back into the doctors office for official service, recharging of batteries and complete sterilization. If you would like a more complete report on my idea, contact me.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

I have just spent a delightful two weeks with my sister, Joy. Joy is the strong, energetic type who enjoyed a daily run before starting her teaching job. She had recovered well from a total mastectomy due to breast cancer twenty three years ago, and for the last two years had been having regular check ups for polyps in the bowel.

While running early one morning, she noted her foot was hurting. It was still troubling her several days later, so she decided to make an appointment with her doctor. The doctor examined her foot and suggested it would be a good idea to have a routine blood test.

This showed that Joy was anemic, which prompted the Doctor to do a colonoscopy. Wilma’s other sister rang with the disturbing news! The colonoscopy revealed Joy had colon cancer and faced the difficult decision to have the whole bowel, or a major part of the bowel removed.

Six weeks after surgery and in between chemotherapy, Joy came to me to recover. “I am going to enjoy every day,” she said. “This has made me appreciate life, as none of us know what is in the future.” And enjoy every day we did! During our bush walks the birds seemed to sing louder and sweeter, the moss appeared greener, the trees bigger. To Joy, the mountains were awesome, and the walk along the beach with the feel of the sand between her toes and the clear blue water were described as, ‘just beautiful’.

Joy praises God for every new day

As nature came alive and Joy took on a new appreciation of it, I was drawn to this thought for the week.

“When men invented flying machines they were noisy, but God made songbirds so they could sing the purest music on earth! (Genesis chapter 1, verse 21)

The sophisticated song mechanism of birds leaves scientists speechless. Birds are such skilled musicians that it often requires someone with a degree in music to fully appreciate their brilliance. Nightingales can have a repertoire of 300 songs stored in their brains! They will often sing 70 songs before they repeat the repertoire again with perfect accuracy. Many birds have ‘absolute pitch’, meaning that they can determine exactly what key they sing in without reference to anything like a tuning fork!

Some birds can perform antiphonal singing where two birds alternate notes in a song. This requires knowledge of the duet by both partners and split second timing in the execution of the duet. When human beings do this it’s considered very skillful and impressive yet birds can accomplish it easily! Since man-made music has an intelligent composer, it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that birdsong has an intelligent, divine Composer.

Some say that birdsong is only required for communication and mating purposes, but the complexity of their music goes way beyond any simple sounds that would satisfy these needs. We can safely conclude that birdsong was created for our enjoyment and that the dawn chorus was meant to remind us to praise God for every new day!” www.thoughtfortheweek.co.uk

It is a reminder to us all isn’t it, to stop and enjoy what God has given us to enjoy. Often we are so busy that we fail to stop long enough to listen to and enjoy nature.

By the way, the doctor never found anything wrong with Joy’s foot. Joy believes God used the foot to get her to the doctor, as they found absolutely no signs that would suggest there was another problem. If she had left it unattended, the outcome would have been worse. She wrote this poem before she flew home:

Cancer is such an ugly word

For me to get it, oh how absurd

But cancer came knocking at my door

And it was quite a shock, that’s for sure

But I know that God really loves me

And so from all fear I’m set free.

For God has promised to be with me all the time

Even when the mountain is real big to climb

The birds are singing and I’m still here

I have great support with the angels near

I’m so blessed in so many ways

I’ll live life to the fullest till the end of my days

For God has got special plans for me

He’s given me promises so that I can see

That there’s hope in the days ahead

So I’ve got a purpose to get out of bed!

Joy has found hope and comfort in knowing God really loves her and has her future in his hands. “I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” Jeremiah 29:11

None of us knows what tomorrow may bring, but we can be sure of our final outcome. In the movie ‘Your Destiny Your Choice’, Ryan gave little thought to life after death until he faced death…he was afraid! His sister Nicky comes to visit in hospital and shows him a computer program that could make him sure of his destiny. Will Ryan choose to be sure of his final outcome? You will disover the answer when you download this movie free on my website.

International traveller, author, and speaker, Wilma Watson has been helping people overcome life’s challenges for over 35 years. Her encouraging words have helped thousands reach their full potential. Wilma is the producer of a unique website that makes spirituality fun and simple. Visit her site at http://www.ydyc.org

A recent study showed that taking aspirin could in fact reduce your risk of getting colon cancer. Although the study only involved data taking from a sampling of women, it appears that aspirin may possibly prevent colon cancer, or so they say? Aspirin is over 100-years old and appears to cure lots of things, yet many were shocked to learn of this latest finding, still other completely doubt the study. The study showed that people who already had polyps maybe able to prevent the onset of colon cancer thru regular use of aspirin. The researchers went on to extrapolate that it could help those without polyps from getting one in the first place.

Now several articles in major Medical Journals are showing that if you took aspirin for a decade 1-2 per week, it would reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by a large margin over those who did not take aspirin regularly. Some of the researchers in near by fields were not surprised while other totally doubted the findings as hogwash. They are saying that any anti-inflammatory drug may have done the same and would certainly help to keep removed polyps from returning, thus reduce the risk of cancer. The study indicated that 14 aspirins per week or 2 every day would reduce the chances of colon cancer by nearly one-third. Those who took even more are said to reduce colon cancer by over 50 percentiles. Of course taking that many aspirins is not good for you, over use of aspirin can cause bleeding. So although the study appears to be a wash for many belief systems of cancer researchers, the evidence is notable and very telling. All this research is helping us fight some of the more serious forms of cancer killers. Think on this and live strong.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Some evidence from observation and studies seem to indicate that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can lower the risk of colorectal cancer. Does this mean you should take an aspirin every day to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer or prevent it? Well it could be said that it would help and research seems to point to that fact. Of course it would not have to be aspirin, it could be Motrin, Advil or a host of other such over the counter type drugs.

Are researchers and doctors recommending this? No they will not go so far as to recommend you take them, unless you are perhaps in an extremely high-risk category. However the studies look to be pretty conclusive in fact go so far as to say they you reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by a little over 50%, which is a huge amount if you start to think about something so simple reducing the risks by that wide of a margin. A weekly usage and the number of years taken seemed to be the key. Too much usage can cause intestinal bleeding and that is a horrible side effect; so do not try this. But the study is interesting indeed.

Much research is continuing in the study of colorectal cancer as it kills about 56,000 Americans per year and about 145,000 are diagnosed now every year. The 20-year study was done on over 83,000 women between the ages of 30 and 55. These women who used aspirin only had a 23 percent less likelihood of colorectal cancer as opposed to those who were non-aspirin users.

While the evidence suggests a reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer from such drugs, it is probably not a good strategy to prevent colorectal cancer. You will need to do your own research and ask your doctor about such things, however this is a very interesting finding and something think about.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

HIGH ENERGY AND JOY

The child who has not yet poisoned his body with unnatural food and stimulants or young undomesticated animals are alternately engaged in joyful play and restful sleep. Negative or depressed states are unknown. Joy, vitality, happiness and play mark its existence. This is equally so with healthy adolescents, young and even mature adults who are not dissipating their powers in destructive emotions and poison-habits. This is strikingly evident in primitive people or regions which have not yet been educated into our "civilized habits". You may find an excellent source of energy principle in healing information at: overcome-diabetes.com

LOW ENERGY AND NEGATIVITY

On the other hand, the more that energy is lost through dissipation, stimulants, tension, emotional, physical and sexual excess and especially prolonged loss of sleep and rest, the more does negativity in feelings, emotions and thoughts set in.

CREATIVITY AND ENERGY

The same applies to our mental and creative abilities. The greater the amount of energy which is available, the better we are able to think, reason, create and the more alert we are. Conversely, the less energy which is available, the more deficient we become in all of our mental abilities.

RECUPERATING ENERGY

The person who feels depressed or negative most of the time is low on the energy level scale and needs to omit undesirable energy-wasting practices and to increase rest and sleep. Just as the muscles enter a state of inertia during the recharging process called sleep, so does the mind manifest a reduced state of activity during its resting and recharging phase. We observe this mental state as "feeling depressed", when we are awake. This merely indicates that the brain-cells are recuperating energy.

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

The individual who is living intelligently, obeying the laws of life, eating correctly, resting and sleeping sufficiently and avoiding poison-habits will manifest happy, cheerful and optimistic feelings, emotions and thought for the most part. He will fluctuate between wellbeing, happiness and great joy. When due to unusual expenditure, his energy level drops, this will manifest as quietude, passivity and deep relaxation which is free from irritability, negative feelings or thoughts.

You may find an excellent source of energy principle in healing information at: overcome-diabetes.com

To learn more about insulin, please read:

Overcome Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes Naturally

Alternative Treatments for Incurable Diseases made easy

Cost-free Miracle Asthma Cure

Among the most spread cancers, colon cancer usually occurs in men and women over the age of 50. The main causes of colon cancer are related to the patient’s diet: very low in fiber and high in fat and calories. By keeping a healthy life style and good eating habits, you can prevent developing cancer of the colon even before this becomes a problem. You might also want to try and check your family history for cases of colon cancer and adopt a healthier diet in order to make sure you will avoid this problem in the future.

Colon cancer treatments are varied and you can choose from a series of traditional and alternative methods of dealing with this condition. Surgery is often the number one choice – the surgeon removes the tumors on the colon, even if the cancer cells are spread beyond the colon itself. This ensures less problems in the future of the patient’s life, reducing chances of bowel problems or internal bleeding. Colon cancer surgery is usually categorized in four main areas: rectum resection, radio frequency ablation, colostomy and colon resection. The surgeon will determine which method is best suited for each individual patient. Detecting cancer at a very early stage is important, as the problem can be corrected in a decisive and final manner. By using a polypectomy, the surgeon will remove suspicious polyps in order to minimize chances of the disease. Local excision may also be used in early stages, in order to remove the cancer cells. After surgery, your hospital should provide you with ongoing support in order to ensure a fast and efficient recovery.

Intra arterial chemotherapy is another treatment worth consideration. This treatment targets tumors by delivering a powerful dose of chemotherapy. Primary systemic chemotherapy is often used before a surgical procedure in order to destroy a large majority of cancer cells. Systemic therapy is usually used with metastatic cancer, while the third method, adjuvant chemotherapy, targets any cancer cells that might have been left over after surgery. All three chemotherapy procedures are delivered through the hepatic artery and are an option if the cancer has spread to the liver.

Another choice comes from chemoembolization treatment. In addition to being delivered intra arterially, this type of treatment blocks the blood flow to the areas affected by cancer. It traps the chemotherapy drugs in the area of the tumor, thus ensuring that they work efficiently and on target.

George Anderson is very interested in colon cancer and the variety of colon cancer treatments available.

There are many cases of colon cancer today, with significantly more people being diagnosed with this potentially deadly disease below age 50 than previously. Colon cancer used to be considered a disease of the elderly, but nowadays many younger people are diagnosed with this kind of disease. This is more because of unhealthy lifestyles such as eating habits, lack of exercises and many other factors.

People tend to consume junk food and any other foods that are over-processed and contain high fat and sugar. This allows the chemically-laced food to sit in colon for longer time and lead to the cancer disease.

Several ways to keep your colon healthy:

1. Balancing your diet

A balance diet will supply your body with sufficient nutrition: balance in carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. It will be better to get all these nutritions naturally by consuming healthy foods such as: fresh vegetables and beans, fish, fruits, seafood and milk. Taking daily supplements also will help.

2. Reduce over-processed foods

Reduce intake of over-processed foods, especially fried foods because these foods contain of high fat that is dangerous to health. You can also choose organic foods that are higher in nutrition. Avoid sausage, hot dogs, ham, and many of which contain salt, sodium nitrites and sodium nitrates, which play big role in leading to colon cancer.

3. Exercise regularly

Do exercise at least 3 times a week is adequate to maintain your stamina and health. If you have any disease, it would be wise to consult with your doctor what exercise suits your current condition.

4. Drink eight glasses of water daily

Adequate water is essential to your body and will help to clean your system by gently washing out offensive bacteria and germs that can harbor in the colon and lead to illness or problems.

5. Colon cleansing

Colon cleansing method has been so popular as an option to keep your colon healthy. Consult with your doctor if you wish to take this method.

6. Visit your doctor and have an annual medical check-up to prevent diseases.

J. Raizel is the owner of Beauty, Health and Fitness blog and Beauty, Health and Fitness eStore. You will find updated news, information, tips and articles about health, beauty and fitness and related products.

A high intake of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a kind of fat found naturally in cow’s milk, significantly lowers risk of bowel cancer, according to a new study.

60,000 Women Over 15 Years

Middle-aged women who reported having the highest intake of CLA during the late ’80s were about 30 percent less likely to have developed bowel cancer within the following 15 years. Data from over 60,000 women were analyzed.

Even further, those who ate at least four servings of high-fat dairy foods each day had a 41 percent lower risk of bowel cancer than those who ate less than one. Each increment of two servings of dairy products equaled a 13 percent reduction in a woman’s colon cancer risk.

Increases Some Risks, Decreases Others

Milk-based products have been linked to increased risk of other cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, but both milk and calcium have been associated with a lower bowel cancer risk in several previous studies.

Current research has usually focused on calcium as the potential mechanism for this. Few if any other studies have evaluated the role of CLA.

Bowel cancer is the third most common form of the disease worldwide.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition October 2005; 82(4): 894-900 Food Navigator USA.com October 10, 2005

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:You may recall that cancer, NOT heart disease, is now America’s top killer.In my book, any natural strategy that cuts your risk of the top killer by half is worth looking into more seriously.

CLA is one such potent cancer-fighter, for as little as 0.5 percent in your daily diet could reduceyour risk of colon cancerby more than 50 percent.

CLA is primarily in dairy products produced from cows that were not fed grain. Much of the animals’ ability to produce CLA is shut down the moment they start eating foods they were not designed to eat like grains.

If you are eating commercial beef you can rest assured that the last three months of that steer’s life it was fed grain in a feedlot prior to slaughter. This is unfortunate as their CLA production is virtually shut off.Grass-fed cattle typically have 500 percentmore CLA than commercial grain-fed beef.

Of the various types of dairy foods assessed in this study the strongest protection for cancer was seen with cheese. That is great news as that is probably the easiest way to obtain grass-fed raw milk. There are far less restrictions on its sale and it is widely available in every state.

It is important to undestand that the pasteurization processcan actually change the three dimensionalstructure of the fragile milk proteins (especially casein) and convert them into proteins your body was never designed to handle. This frequently results in health complications.

Pasteurized milk is inferior to raw milk in a number of importantways as it:

• Increasestooth decay

If you are concerned about potential health risks from drinking raw milk I suggest you review my article on why raw milk is becoming more popular. If you are unable to find a local dairy farmer in your area who sells raw milk, I encourage you to visit the Real Milk Web site to locate a source close to you.

If you are interested in lowering your risk of colon cancer and you are unable to easily secure raw milk, I would encourage you to seek grass-fed, organic, raw milk cheese in your local health food store. BUT please make sure it is grass-fed.

This article is reprinted from Mercola.com, the world’s #1 most visited and trusted natural/alternative health website. For a limited time only, you can take the FREE "Metabolic Type Test" to help you learn the right foods for your particular body type so you can achieve optimal fitness & health. Just go to http://www.mercola.com/forms/mt_test.htm right now to take this quick test!

Staging is a method of evaluating the progress of colon cancer in a patient. That is, it looks at the colon cancer (tumor) and the extent to which the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Once doctors know how far along the colon cancer is, they can decide on the best course of treatment.

Today, the most common used system for the staging of colon cancer is the American Joint Committee on Cancer’s (AJCC) TNM staging system. This staging system places patients into one of four stages (Stage I, Stage II, Stage III and Stage IV).

American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging System

Stage 0 Colon Cancer

In Stage 0, the colon cancer is found in the innermost lining of the colon only. Stage 0 colorectal cancer is also called carcinoma in situ.

Stage I Colon Cancer

In Stage I, the colon cancer has begun to spread, but is still in the inner lining of the colon or rectum. In Stage I, the colon cancer has not reached the outer wall of the colon. Another name for Stage I colorectal cancer or Duke A.

Stage II Colon Cancer

In Stage II, the colon cancer extends more deeply into and/or through the colon or rectum. The colon cancer may have invaded nearby tissue. In Stage II, it the colon cancer has not reached lymph nodes (Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures found throughout the body that filter substances in a fluid call lymph to help fight infection and disease. Another name for Stage II colorectal cancer or Duke B.

Stage III Colon Cancer

In Stage III, the colon cancer has spread to lymph nodes, but has not been carried to distant parts of the body. Another name for Stage III colorectal cancer or Duke C.

Stage IV Colon Cancer

In Stage IV, the colon cancer has been carried through the lymph system to distant parts of the body. This is known as metastasis. The most likely organs to experience metastasis from colorectal cancer are the lungs and liver. Another name for Stage IV colorectal cancer or Duke D.

Recurrent Colon Cancer or Cancerous Cells

Recurrent colon cancer is the return of cancerous cells that have already been treated. The cancerous cells could return as colorectal cancer, and/or return in any other part of the body.

Theodore Frazer