| WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLORECTAL CANCER ARE YOU AT RISK FOR COLORECTAL CANCER GET SCREENED FOR COLORECTAL CANCER INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT TOP SPORTS FOODS: SOME HEALTHFUL CHOICES COLORECTAL CANCER PREVENTION RESOURCES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COLORECTAL CANCER - Colorectal cancer is highly preventable, treatable, and curable.
- Colorectal cancer affects men and women equally ... 130,000 diagnosed every year.
- A low-fat diet high and regular exercise can help reduce your risk of colorectal cancer.
- Regular screenings may detect pre-cancerous polyps. Removal of these may prevent cancer from developing.
- Screenings can help detect colorectal cancer in its earliest most curable stages.
- When detected and treated early, the five-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is 91%.
- Beginning at age 50, men and women should be screened regularly for colorectal cancer.
- Screenings are not painful and are covered by Medicare and many health insurers.
ARE YOU AT RISK FOR COLORECTAL CANCER
Colorectal cancer can affect anyone — men and women alike — and your risk increase with age. But some people are at greater risk for the disease. - People with personal or family history of:
- Benign colorectal polyps.
- Colorectal cancer.
- Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s).
- Ovarian, endomentrial or breast cancer.
- People of African-American and Hispanic descent, who are often diagnosed at a later stage of the disease.
- Men and women age 50 or older.
GET SCREENED FOR COLORECTAL CANCER
Colorectal cancer may be prevented, and is easily treated and often curable when detected early. Make these screenings a part of your health life. Talk to your doctor using this list as a guide. Beginning at age 50: - Have a fecal occult blood test yearly.
- Have a digital rectal exam every 5 to 10 years.
- Have a sigmoidoscopy every five years, or a colonoscopy or double contrast barium enema every 5 to 10 years. Have all non-cancerous polyps removed to help prevent colorectal cancer before it starts.
- If you have a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, benign colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, or breast, ovarian, or endomentrial cancer, talk to your doctor about earlier screening.
INDIVIDUAL INVOLVEMENT Share information about screenings, prevention, and risk with your family and friends. Talk to your family to determine if anyone has ever had colorectal cancer or benign colorectal polyps to see if you are at risk. Share your family's history with your relatives. Send an e-mail to friends and family reminding them to get screened and to talk to their physician about colorectal cancer. Ask your doctor to post information in the office about preventing colorectal cancer through screening and a healthy lifestyle. Contact local civic groups or professional organizations to which you belong and request that they promote colorectal cancer prevention. Investigate starting an awareness campaign for employees at your place of work. Request that your local library, communitY center, or senior center post information about the risks and screening protocols.
TOP SPORTS FOODS: SOME HEALTHFUL CHOICES When you're training hard, juggling school/work, exercise and social activities plus trying to eat healthfully, you may feel frustrated that you have no time to eat the proverbial “three square meals” every day. Never-the-less, you can maintain a healthful diet. The trick is to eat a variety of nutrient-dense, low fat snacks / meals-on-the-run. The following list includes foods that are commonly available in a convenience store, sandwich shop or salad bar, or can be kept stocked at home. These nutritious foods guard your health within a moderate to low calorie price. Since not one of the foods is nutritionally perfect, you need to choose a variety in order to get a balance of the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and proteins necessary for top performance and good health. | FOOD | IMPORTANT NUTRIENTS | COMMENTS | Milk, low fat
Yogurt, low fat | Calcium, protein riboflavin | Calcium is important throughout the lifetime to maintain strong bones. Plan to eat low fat dairy products 2-4 tImes each day. Pizza (with low fat mozzarella cheese) is another calcium-rich alternative. | | Broccoli | Vitamins A, C | One stalk (cooked) offers 100% RDA for vitamin C. Frozen and fresh are nutritionally similar, since freezing doesn't destroy the vitamin C. | | Spinach | Vitamins A, C, folic acid | Add to salads, for more nutrients than altered by pale lettuce. Keep frozen spinach stocked at home, for a quick dinner vegetable. | | Green peppers | Vitamin C | Half a pepper offers 100% RDA Vitamin C. Add to salads and pizza. or even munch on a raw pepper for a low-calorie snack. | | Tomatoes | Vitamins A, C, potassium | Boost intake by adding sliced tomatoes to sandwiches: choose foods with tomato sauce (pizza, pasta, etc.); drink tomato juice. | | V-8 Juice | Vitamins A, C, potassium | An easy, cook-free way to get the nutrients from B vegetables! Keep small cans stocked for a snack or lunch time beverage. | | Baked potato | Potassium, Vitamin C, carbohydrates | Be sure to eat the skin - it contaIns 75% of the vitamin C. For a low-calorie topping, add yogurt. Or, mash with milk, for moistness without the fat and calories of butter or sour cream. | | Orange juice (or oranges) | Vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, carbohydrates | Six ounces (fresh or from frozen) offers 100% RDA C. A great post-exercise “recovery food” for potassium, carbs and fluid. Orange juice is nutritionally superior to many other fruit juices. | | Bananas | Potassium, carbohydrates, vitamin C | To prevent over-ripening, store In the refrigerator. The skin may turn black, but the fruit will be fine. Add to cereal, or eat with peanut butler and a glass of milk for a balanced on-the-run meal. | | Cantaloupe | Vitamins C, A | Half a small melon offers 100% Vitamin C - and very few calories! Enjoy with low fat cottage cheese for a quick, lite lunch or snack. | | Chicken, turkey | Protein | Dark meat offers more nutrients than white; remove the skin to reduce fat, calories and cholesterol. | | Lean beef | Protein, Iron, zinc | Beef is among the best sources of iron and zinc. Avoid fatty meats. i.e., choose a lean roast beef sandwich, rather than a greasy hamburger. | | Fish, tuna | Protein, fish-oil | The oil in salmon, albacore tuna, sardines protects against heart disease. Avoid fried fish; use low-fat mayo with tuna, if possible. | | Bran cereal, enriched | Fiber, carbohydrates Iron, B-vitamins | Bran is excellent for fiber (to help prevent constipation). Select "fortified" and "enriched" cereals for the most iron; drink orange juice with cereal to enhance iron absorption. | | Muffins (bran, corn) | Carbohydrates, B-vitamins fiber | More nutritious than doughnuts or breakfast pastry - especially if whole wheat, corn meal or bran varieties. Top with jelly (rather than butter) for extra carbohydrates and moistness. | | Bread, bagels | Carbohydrates, B-vitamins (whole grain) fiber | Dark, whole-grain breads (rye, whole wheat, oatmeal, etc.) are preferable to breads made with refined white flour. Bread is not fattening. Butter, margarine, cream cheese and mayonnaise are. | | Pizza, thick crust | Calcium, protein, Vitamin A carbohydrates | Of fast foods, thick-crust pizza with single-cheese. vegetable toppings (NOT pepperoni, sausage) is preferable to burgers. If the pizza is oily, simply blot off the grease with a napkin. | | Popcorn, air-popped | Carbohydrates, fiber | A wholesome, low fat snack that's preferable to greasy chips. Be cautious of even “lite” commercial brands of popcorn- they can be half-fat |
Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS,RD; SportsMedicine Systems, Inc., Boston 02167. Visit www.nancyclarkrd.com for more information.
COLORECTAL CANCER PREVENTION RESOURCES
- United Ostomy Association, Inc.
1-800-826-0826
www.uoa.org
(UOA brochure “What is An Ostomy”
(Dr. John Bond article published in Summer 1998 issue of OQ)
- American Cancer Society, Local Units and/or Divisions
1 -800-ACS-2345
www.cancer.org
(Local speaker and/or brochures)
- Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates(SGNA)
www.sgna.org
1-800-245-SGNA
(Local speaker)
- American Digestive Health Foundation (ADHF)
1-800-668-5237
www.gastro.org/adhf
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearing House
(301) 654-3810
www.niddk.nih.gov
- Colorectal Cancer Network
(301) 879-1500
www.colorectal-cancer.net
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