You've heard this one before, as it seems to apply to so many health tips, but staying active and eating a lot of fish can greatly help reduce the risk of colon cancer.
According to researchers, these two tips can also prevent the return of colon cancer in those that have already been treated.
Researchers at the Michigan State University's Breslin Cancer Center examined data on over 1,500 cancer patients from the U.S. and Western Europe. Of the total, 188 of those patients had a recurrence of their cancer after their treatment had ended. The team then collected information on the patient's diet, exercise routine, smoking and drinking habits.
What they found was that those patients who ate fish less than twice a week and only did some form of exercise/physical activity for less than an hour per week had a 2.5 times greater risk of suffering from colon caner recurrence. Interestingly, other habits that are typically associated with negative data outcomes, such as meat and alcohol consumption as well as smoking, did not affect the risk of recurrence.
"In the United States, there are people who include fish as part of their diet intentionally to be healthier. It's not a standard part of our diet, like it is in other parts of the world," Dr. Smitha Krishnamurthi, an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) spokeswoman and an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, said. "There's a growing body of epidemiologic evidence that exercise is associated with a reduced risk of recurrent colon cancer. It makes sense. For example, we know that exercise reduces insulin levels in the body, and insulin is a growth factor for both normal cells and malignant cells."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), colon cancer affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people aged 50 years or older. In the United States, it is the third-most-common cancer for men and women
While screening rates have increased in the U.S., not enough people are getting screened for colon cancer and the CDC is urging people to do so. As of 2008, 62.9% of adults aged 50-75 years were screened as recommended. In 2002, only 51.9% of Americans were screened as recommended. The CDC adds that 22 million people annually are still not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.
The CDC claims that for 2010, the most recent year numbers are available, 131,607 people in the United States were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, including 67,700 men and 63,907 women. It says that 52,045 people in the United States died from colon cancer, including 27,073 men and 24,972 women.
