The Leon Hess Cancer Center
at Monmouth Medical Center offers a Colorectal Cancer High Risk
Program that is designed to evaluate, educate and closely monitor
individuals who are at high risk for developing colorectal cancer.
While colorectal cancer claims
about 51,000 lives a year —ranking
it second behind lung cancer as the most fatal form of the disease — the
potential for saving lives is greatly improved when this cancer
is detected early. In fact, early detection can save four out of
five lives.
Factors that place certain individuals at high risk for developing
colorectal cancer include:
- Having a mother, father, sister or brother who has been diagnosed
with the disease or have polyps of the colon or rectum.
- Having a
history of inflammatory bowel disease.
- High fat and/or low-fiber
diet and smoking also may be associated with increased risk.
As part of the program, a high risk team has been assembled — its
members working closely with each patient at high risk to develop
a personal colorectal health plan and to educate them about the
disease.
The multidisciplinary team, which takes a coordinated
approach to care, is lead by a genetic counselor who leads the
Hereditary Risk Assessment Program of the Leon Hess Cancer
Center at Monmouth. The genetic counselor works with primary care
physicians, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists and colorectal
surgeons, and this high-risk team is supported by a
clinical and data research nurse, and psychosocial and enterostomal
therapists.
In evaluating a patient's colorectal health, the genetic counselor
will explain the various risk factors and provide a detailed risk
assessment for colorectal cancer, based on personal and family
health history.
Individuals determined to be at high risk by be
referred to a colorectal surgeon or gastroenterologist, who will
perform a physical examination that may involve a number of diagnostic
procedures, which are recommended by The American Cancer Society
to detect colon or rectum cancer before symptoms occur. These include:
- A
digital rectal examination
- A stool blood test
- Fiberoptic sigmoidoscopy (a flexible tube used
to inspect the rectum and the walls of a portion of the colon)
More extensive studies,
including the examination of the entire colon through colonoscopy,
and a barium enema — an X-ray
procedure in which the intestines are viewed — may be needed
if any of the routine tests reveal possible problems. If a growth
is discovered, a small tissue sample is removed and a biopsy is
performed.
Patients who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer are
offered treatment and rehabilitative services through the Leon
Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center. Care is delivered
by a multidisciplinary team in a caring and supportive environment,
helping patients and their families adapt to living with a cancer
diagnosis.
For more information on the Patricia Burton High Risk Colorectal
Program of the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center,
call 888-SBHS-123.
It is important to remember that not all high risk patients develop
colorectal cancer. High risk means that the possibility of developing
this disease is higher than in the general population. Remember,
early detection is the key to prevention.
The American Cancer Society (ACS)
estimates that more than 147,000 new cases of colorectal cancer
are diagnosed in the United States annually.
In New Jersey alone, approximately 4,500 new cases are diagnosed
each year. While approximately 57,100 Americans die each
year from colorectal cancer, it is a highly preventable
and curable disease if caught early. In fact, the American Cancer
Society believes that an estimated 40,000 lives could be saved
annually if men and women underwent colorectal screening at an
appropriate age. The five-year survival rate is 93 percent for
colon cancer and 87 percent for rectal cancer when the cancer is
diagnosed in an early, localized stage. After the cancer has spread
regionally — involving adjacent organs or lymph nodes — the
survival rates drop to 63 percent and 53 percent, respectively.
The Patricia Burton High Risk Colorectal Cancer Program is part
of the Leon Hess Cancer Center at Monmouth Medical Center, which
has been a leader in cancer care for more than 30 years: To
learn more, visit http://www.mmccancer.com/colorectal.htm.
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