Colorectal Cancer: the Deadliest Cancer for Young Adult Men — Prevention & Treatment Strategies
Although it’s the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in the world, colorectal cancer is rapidly increasing in young adults. It is becoming the leading cause of cancer death among younger men under 50 surpassing the previous leader—lung cancer.
In this article, I attempted to highlight the risk factors, prevention strategies, and integrative oncology approach for those diagnosed and undergoing treatment. For more information, I invite you to read my book, Live Long, Live Strong: an Integrative Approach to Cancer Care and Prevention.
Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer
You or your loved ones are at a much higher risk for developing colorectal cancer if you have:
Personal or family history of colorectal cancer or polyps
Have not had a colonoscopy by age 45 and regularly thereafter
Live a sedentary lifestyle with little physical activities
Lack of regular, consistent physical exercise
Eat a diet low in vegetables, fruits, and fiber
Eat a diet high in fat, sugar, processed and refined food, especially meats and dairy
Are overweight or obese
Under chronic stress
Drink at least four alcoholic beverages a week
Smoke tobacco regularly
Suffer from chronic digestive problems like irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease i.e. colitis, diverticulitis, proctitis, etc and chronic bacterial overgrowths like SIBO, H.Pylori, and parasites
Prevention Strategies
Correspondingly, by avoiding the aforementioned risks factors you can dramatically prevent the onset of colorectal cancer.
Start regular colonoscopy screening at age 40. Since the disease incidence rate is rapidly increasing in the young adult population it is wise to start your screening early especially if there is a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps.
Be sure to eat a diet high in vegetables, fruits and fiber i.e. oat or wheat bran, psyllium husk, citrus peel, chicory root, acacia fiber, etc.
Avoid a diet excessive in fats, protein, sugar, refined carbohydrates like white flour products i.e. bread, pasta, rice, potato, bagels, pancake, etc., and high sugar food and beverages like ice cream, cake, soda, cookies, deserts, etc.
Reduce alcohol intake to two or fewer drinks a week. Alcohol is a carcinogen. Abstinence is best. Oh, and don’t smoke.
Reduce weight, if overweight especially. Get rid of excess belly fat which predisposes one to insulin resistance and elevated blood glucose, a sure way to increase cancer risks. One natural way to keep your blood sugar and insulin from spiking is to take Berberine, an extract from the Chinese herb, golden thread, or coptidis.
Exercise, exercise, and exercise. Those who exercised at least 30 minutes and more than five days a week halved their risks of cancer.
Manage stress effectively. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels, which in turn leads to inflammation that raises the risk for cancer. Meditate daily. Sign up for my online meditation course beginning on March 23. Sign up at CollegeOfTao.org.
Resolve chronic digestive disorders. If you suffer from abdominal pain, bloating, gas, alternating constipation, and diarrhea you may have been told that you have IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome and there’s no treatment for it. Well, it turns out, the majority of IBS patients actually suffer from SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth which is completely treatable. Read more here on my natural treatments protocol for SIBO.
Balance your intestinal microbiome. There is strong evidence that overuse of antibiotics and other medications alters the healthy balance of the intestinal bacteria population and may lead to increased inflammation, toxicity, and cancerous changes. The easiest way to restore a healthy microbiome is to consume healthy fermented foods with naturally existing probiotics such as sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, miso, and tempeh.
Not all probiotic supplements are created equal. Studies show specific bacterial strains may be helpful in lowering the incidence of colorectal cancer. For example, studies show the use of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) strain decreased cellular proliferation and carcinogenesis in the colon. Wellness Living’s Super ProBiotics contains 8 bacterial strains including LGG and others to support healthy gut immunity.
Integrative Oncology
Sometimes you try to live well but get unlucky and still end up with colorectal cancer. What now? Well, conventional oncology offers methods of cancer eradication ranging from surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. While these treatments work well they can cause tremendous side effects and suppressed immune function in patients which may not bode well for staying in remission for the long term.
Integrating Chinese and Western medicine for the care of cancer patients began in hospitals across China in the early 1980s and I was lucky to be one of the cohorts of physicians to be trained in integrative oncology while in my postgrad residency at Cancer Hospital of the Shanghai Medical University.
What I witnessed was irrefutable—cancer patients enjoyed higher remission rates and longer survival with integrative oncology versus either one alone. I invite you to read my book, Live Long, Live Strong: an Integrative Approach to Cancer Care and Prevention for the many studies on the benefits of integrative oncology.
Some of the Chinese medical modalities that are used in integrative oncology include:
Chinese herbal therapy to support healthy immune function, reduce side effects of chemo and radiation, rebuild red blood cell and hemoglobin, reverse organ injury i.e. liver inflammation, kidney function decline, bone marrow suppression, etc. and augment anti-cancer properties of conventional oncology.
Anti-cancer diet and nutrition to optimize patient’s participation in epigenetic activities to modify and reduce cancer gene expressions and increase the body’s own anti-cancer abilities through apoptosis (programmed cancer cell death), autophagy (killing mutated cells), and the starvation of cancer cells.
Mind-body practices such as qi gong and meditation have wide adoption by cancer patients in China and studies have shown that these practices lower inflammation, increase healthy immune function and improve quality of life.
Acupuncture to increase energy, reduce nausea and gastric distress, calm anxiety, and decrease pain and neuropathy.
While the above guidelines are for colorectal cancer, they also apply to most other cancers. Over the last 36 years, I have made myself available to consult and advise cancer patients from around the world via telemedicine. Being proactive in preventing cancer is a fundamental precept and practice in Chinese medicine. As the ancient Chinese quote stated:
Treating disease like cancer after one gets diagnosed is akin to digging well after becoming thirsty and forging weapons after engaging in war—are not these actions too late?
May You Live Long, Live Strong and Live Happy!
Dr. Mao