Actually, 95% of colorectal cancer cases DO begin from adenomous polyps but most of them are benign. There is a picture on the john hopkins
site that details the process of cancer development from polyps.
Fewer than 10% of all adenomas become cancerous, however, more than 95% of colorectal cancers develop from adenomas. And there is never a guarantee that chemo will help, since the cancer reoccurs in 18% of the patients (which is a really modest estimate). This is way too darn high for me.
A 2008 study at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center aimed to improve the data collection and statistics about colon cancer recurrence. This study included 1,320 patients without metastatic disease. By the end of the study, 243 of those patients suffered recurrence –- or about 18 percent of the patients.Doctors will never tell you the cancer is gone, because they know there is a very probable chance that it will reoccur after chemo "eradicates" it. There is also a very probable chance that the chemo will miss the cancer, and it will continue to be left undetected:
Although your doctor may say the magic words "you’re cured of cancer," there are no guarantees. When your tests show a complete absence of cancer after treatment, you are in remission. Remission is a term used to describe an absence of detectable cancer cells in your body, which some doctors give the label of "cured."
Scientists say that when cancer recurs, there is a chance it was never completely removed or it had already spread to distant sites, which were undetected on screening tests (PET scan, for instance). Colon cancer recurrences are identified as:
Local -– in the colon where the initial cancer was located
Regional -- found in lymph nodes close to the original site
Distant -- also considered metastatic, as the cancer has traveled through the body to a distant siteI'm still not getting the point here. The cure is in prevention. Why not just do the things the current research is showing to prevent it? The current data seems to indicate our microbial composition (or lack thereof) appears to be the greatest determinant of autoimmunity and cancer, so that might be a good starting point for most folks. It's not a surprise that the western diet is correlated to colon cancer, since it is fairly low in fermentable fibers and resistant starches.
Yes, there is never a 100% guarantee on anything. These are the risks we accept when we are born. However, a dramatic reduction like 40-50% is good enough for most of the population:
After adjusting the data for additional factors (which can skew statistical results), the researchers reported that women on a Western diet were 46% more likely to develop colon cancer than women who ate a prudent diet. There did not appear to be any relationship between dietary patterns and rectal cancer.Indole-3-carbinols (produced via sulfur compounds in cruciferous vegetables) appear to reduce the risk of certain cancers like prostate in half.
Why get a colonoscopy every year and blithely hope that you don't develop something? Why hedge your bets on the fact that a colonoscopy will even prevent it given how easily it could be missed? I'm sorry but I am NOT going to continue the trajectory of bad lifestyle habits and then put my hope in a machine telling me each year whether I need ineffective chemo or not. I have to take action right in this very moment and change the habits that perpetuate it.
Post Edited (Guardian7) : 3/18/2015 8:04:56 AM (GMT-6)