Colorectal Polyps
Colorectal cancer causes an estimated 55,000 deaths every year and is the second most common cancer killer in the United States. With 138,000 new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed annually, men and women are equally at risk for this type of cancer.
All colon cancers begin as polyps. Polyps are small, abnormal growths that form on the wall of the colon. If left untreated, polyps may become cancerous over time. However, if polyps are identified and then removed at an early stage, then they do not have the opportunity to become cancerous.
Diverticulosis affects the large intestine, or colon. Normally, a colon is strong and relatively smooth. When a person has diverticulosis, there are weak spots in the walls. Those weak spots create small pouches in the colon that bulge outward. Imagine an inner tube that pokes through a weak place in a tire. Each pouch is about the size of a large pea.
The disease was first noticed in the United States in the early 1900s. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), at about the same time, processed foods were introduced into the American diet. Many processed foods contain refined, low-fiber flour. Unlike whole-wheat flour, refined flour has no wheat bran.
A single pouch in the colon is defined as a diverticulum. Diverticulosis can occur anywhere in the colon, but most are found in the lower left side. That portion is called the sigmoid colon, and it is where the colon is the narrowest and the inner pressure the highest.
As many as 80 percent of the people who have diverticulosis never realize they have it. It is actually a very common disorder in people over age sixty. In fact, more than half of all people between the ages of sixty and eighty have diverticulosis, and nearly everyone over age eighty has the condition.
Diverticulosis can be difficult to diagnose because it usually causes no symptoms. It is usually discovered during an intestinal examination. Tests like barium enema X-ray, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy examinations can all be helpful diagnostic tools.
When there are pouches on the colon, it is called diverticulosis. When the pouches become inflamed and/or infected, it is called diverticulitis. The pouches get infected due to the bacteria in the stool that gets lodged in the pouch. Diverticulitis can cause pain and tenderness on the left side of the lower abdomen.
If infection occurs, patients can expect to experience fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation. The extent of the infection and complications will affect the severity of symptoms. Diverticulitis can create health difficulties like bleeding, infections, tears, or blockages in the bowel.
Studies in the New England Journal of Medicine have shown that a daily aspirin decreases the number of polyps in patients at high risk for colon polyps, which are precursors to colon cancer. Talk to your physician about including an aspirin in your daily diet.
When you are faced with diverticulitis, you will usually be prescribed antibiotics. When diverticulitis has minor symptoms, oral antibiotics are usually effective. Examples of commonly prescribed antibiotics include ciprofloxacin (Cipro), metronidazole (Flagyl), cephalexin (Keflex), and doxycycline (Vibramycin). Acute diverticulitis attacks will usually require patients to be limited to liquid diets or low-fiber foods. In severe diverticulitis with high fever and pain, some patients will need to be hospitalized and given intravenous antibiotics.
