'YES FOR LIFE, NO FOR CANCER'

The Ministry of Health inaugurated a medical conference...

...titled “Yes for Life, No for Cancer” on Monday, in cooperation with King Abdul Aziz Hospital in jeddah, where the conference was held.

With this conference, the ministry hoped to provide people with extensive information about the dangers, diagnoses and treatments associated with colon cancer, in particular.

Lasting over four hours, the event was attended by a number of reputed Saudi and foreign professors who have specialized specifically in colon cancer. The first half of the conference was devoted to scientific seminars, while discussion on working papers written on the subject dominated the second.

The papers highlighted the various treatments available to tackle colon cancer - namely chemotherapy and surgery - as well as methods of raising public awareness about this cancer.

“Colon cancer is considered the second most common cause of cancer-related death after lung cancer, but this danger can be avoided if people know what causes it and how to avoid it from spreading by undergoing regular tests for its detection,” said Dr. Hasna Al-Ghamedi, the head of the Oncology Department at King Abdul Aziz Hospital .

According to Dr. Al-Ghamedi, early detection can reduce the risk of fatality by 16 percent.

“It is very difficult to explain why colon cancer happens, but mostly it’s because of age - people above the age of 55 years are more at risk – and because of the lifestyle a person has been following, especially with respect to following a bad diet,” remarked Dr. Al-Ghamedi, adding “A person is also more likely to suffer from colon cancer if a close relative has had it earlier on.” She also places heavy emphasis on keeping fit and playing sports as a deterrent for potentially developing colon cancer since overweight people are more at risk.

“Not only overweight people, but smokers are also at risk. The percentage of having colon cancer increases from 30 to 40 percent in smokers as compared to non-smokers,” she adds.

How does one know that they are at risk of having colon cancer, though? Dr. Al-Ghamedi asserts that the most visible symptom is bleeding from the rectum or the appearance of blood in the stool. Other symptoms include ongoing irregular bowel activity, such as acute diarrhea, and unusual pain in the abdomen. The patient should also be aware of what stage of colon cancer they have been diagnosed at and what possible treatments are available for that particular stage, according to Dr. Al-Ghamedi.

“This particular cancer starts to grow on the mucous membrane, and then goes through the permeating muscle to spread to nearby lymph nodes to be deployed in other parts of the body, such as the liver and ultimately the lung,” she remarked.

Official statistics released on colon cancer from the Ministry of Health indicate that the number of people who are suffering from colon cancer in the Kingdom is approximately 500, with a higher probability of it appearing in men as compared to women, according to Dr. Wafa’a Ashour, an Oncology Consultant at King Abdul Aziz Hospital.

Treatment for colon cancer can take a number of forms. The main treatment for colon and rectal cancer is to remove the cancerous tumor from the colon (or rectum) through surgery, using a sample of the glioma and normal lymph nodes.

Another treatment is through the use of drugs to slow or stop the growth of cancer - chemotherapy - and can be used before surgery to limit the tumor’s spread. However, chemotherapy has mostly been used after surgery to eradicate any remaining tumor cells, resulting in a negative ratio of tumor regression.

Dr. Al- Ghamdi highlights the main drugs used for chemotherapy. “The most effective drugs I have used for the treatment of colon cancer have been Alziluda, Alierinotikan and Alaoxalblatyn. All three have given positive results, but they also induced a number of side effects such as diarrhea, vomiting and hair loss. On a more serious level, they decrease the number of white blood cells, which makes patients less immune to infections and the resultant fever that comes with it,” she said.

The most common test for detecting colon cancer is a colo/noscopy, which is almost identical to the endoscopy procedure used to detect common problems like ulcers. It is an almost pain-free and quick procedure, and highly recommended for people who experience any of the highlighted symptoms.

However, the initial test for anyone suffering from such symptoms is a routine stool test called the Fecal Occult Blood Test (T FOB).

“We are advising people to go through this stool test, as it detects any sign of blood in stool, and reduces the likelihood of colon cancer resulting in death by a third if this test is conducted every two years,” remarked Dr. Ashour. In fact, all the medical professionals present at the conference asked members of the audience to get the test done periodically so that the cancer can be detected and dealt with as soon as possible. – SG

Diana Al-Jassem - Saudi Gazette