MIRROR-
EXCLUSIVE: Discomfort about having camera inserted into bum causing colon cancer deaths, warns expert
Cases of colon cancer are surging among young people as medical experts struggle to catch up and crucial diagnoses are often missed as people avoid the prospect of getting a colonoscopy.Discomfort and embarrassment about getting a colonoscopy done is causing unnecessary deaths from colorectal cancer, an expert has warned.
A colonoscopy involves a long, thin, flexible tube with a small camera inside being inserted into the anus and is an essential test used to detect cancer or precancerous growths in the bowels known as polyps. It is usually done with the patient awake, though medicine can be offered to help with discomfort and to make the test easier.he warning comes as cases of colon cancer among the under-40s are expected to double by 2030, according to experts and colorectal cancer as a whole is showing a similar trend. Speaking to the Mirror , colorectal cancer expert Guido Baechler, CEO of Mainz Biomed, explained some of the biggest problems facing those trying to treat the cancer.He said: "We're focusing on one of the biggest killers in the world - colorectal cancer. It's moving to younger ages and the jury is out why exactly it's happening. The reality is that it's happening.
"There are people who are young, who are dying. The issue is they are detecting too late, because they're not part of a screening program. If you show up as a 35-year-old to your doctor, they might say you're not at risk of colorectal cancer because you're too young. That's the philosophy of current medicine. It requires a change in thinking."
The screening age for colorectal cancer in younger adults was lowered to 45 in 2021. But many people don't act on this. Mr Baechler said: "It's not fun. When you pass 50 you should start getting colonoscopies but I have friends who are 60 who have never gotten one. With 50 you should start. The day before with all the things you have to drink it's a mess. I don't want to have to do it."
When asked if the discomfort of the test holds back people from getting it, our expert responded: "I think so. People just don't want to do it. So make it as easy as possible."Around 153,000 colorectal cancer cases are likely to be detected this year, according to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is a term used to refer to both colon and rectal cancers. Around 19,500 of these prospective patients are under the age of 50. Mainz Biomed has developed ColoAlert, a stool test you can do at home without the need for invasive colonoscopies.Mr Beachler explained: "We're moving the needle from detecting cancer to preventing cancer. Specifically with colorectal cancer. There are people like Chadwick Bosman, the actor from Black Panther, you'd think would have the best possible access to diagnostics, which is not all the case."
The at-home test has already proven effective in some cases. Mr Baechler recalled: "We've had a mid-30-year-old woman who already had two kids, was pregnant with her third and just didn't feel well. She wasn't gaining weight so went to her primary care physician and they said that it was fine. But it wasn't. She didn't believe her doctor. She started doing research and came across our test which you can order online in Germany. And the test was positive.
"So then the doctor had to respond, did a colonoscopy and she was identified as a colorectal cancer patient. And because of our test, she was not just able to deliver a healthy baby but she was picked up much earlier than normal. Who knows what would have happened to her. So this is why we're doing this."
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
_jfif.jpg)
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)