Colon Cancer is most common in adults 50 years or older and often in those who have a particular pattern (overweight, smoking and poor nutritional habits). This isn’t the case as doctors are now starting to see a tremendous rise in colon cancer in those under the age of 50, some as young as early to late 30’s.

One thing is for certain – STRESS is connected with colon cancer, and if there is one thing Americans have more of is STRESS! Student loan debts, higher living expenses, large rent/mortgage rates, uncertain job security etc. can lead to an early adult life life that isn’t as easy as one imagined when in college.

There has been a sharp rise in colorectal cancer rates within the <50 year old range and surprisingly a marked decrease in those > 50 years old.

Colon, Rectal Cancer Increasing Among Gen X and Millennials. A recent study by the American Cancer Society published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that while colorectal cancer rates have been steadily declining among people born between 1890 and 1950, they’ve been sharply rising with each generation since1950, by about 1 percent to 2 percent a year, for adults in their 20s and 30s. A 2020 re-port revealed that colorectal cancer is expected to cause more than 50,000 deaths in2020, including 3,640 deaths in people younger than 50 years.

What Exactly Is Colorectal Cancer? As the name implies, Colorectal cancer is used to describe cancer that begins in the colon or the rectum, which are both part of the large intestine. They’re usually grouped together because they both share many similar features. Colorectal cancers most often begin with the out pocketing of a polyps along the lining of the colon or rectum. This is why medicine stresses regular colonoscopies, so they can “look” for the early stages of colon cancer. The majority of polyps are benign however, but some can eventually turn into cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the wall of the colon and rectumis made up of layers, and colorectal cancer begins in the innermost layer, though it can grow outward. Once the cancer cells are in the wall, they’re able to grow into blood vessels or lymph nodes, traveling outside the colon or rectum and into the rest of the body.

Proven lifestyle factors that can increase the risk of colorectal cancer include:

– Being overweight, ie body fat percentage 40% or greater

– Consumption of processed corn fed meat, lunch meats or processed meat products

– Consumption of processed foods (emulsifiers used in dressings, condiments and carbonated beverages have been directly connected to colon cancer)

-Low levels of physical activity

-Low levels of fiber consumption

-History of smoking

-History of social alcohol use (beer, wine, spirits)

How To Prevent Colon Cancer From Forming:

If you want to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer, no matter what your age, there are several lifestyle changes you can make.

– GET MOVING:

A sedentary lifestyle leads to a host of health effects, none of which are positive: heart disease, diabetes and poor circulation. Extended periods of time sitting has a massive connection to numerous conditions, including colon cancer. If you sit the majority of the day at work, simply set a reoccurring hourly alarm, stand up and walk around your desk for 30-60 seconds then return. Any amount of movement is helpful – everything from light walking to sprint burst running.

– OVERHAUL YOUR DIET:

One study directly links processed meats and nutrient-empty refined carbohydrates, along with low fiber foods as the main stress with your colon health. I might even add that grain consumption (corn, wheat, rice, oats) and dairy (butter, milk, cream, yogurt, cheese) only aggravates the colon by producing excess inflammation and free-radical damage. Its quite easy to adopt a whole food diet these days – simply eat clean meats (grass-fed, free range, wild caught) and focus on eating only high fiber fruits and vegetables (citrus and green plant vegetables.

– QUIT SMOKING / DRINKING:

Are you still a smoker? Whether you’re smoking tobacco or e-cigs/vaping the best thing you can do for your health is to STOP! While a glass of dry farm, low to no sugar wine can be healthy for you, one glass for women and two glasses for men are the recommended allowances weekly! You would be amazed how many patients tells me they do that each day of the week! More than once weekly can spell trouble for your health, colon and waistline.

– CHIROPRACTIC CARE:

Cancer is often viewed by conventional health care (Medicine) as the problem – ie the end all of all disease – the one condition you never want to have b/c there isn’t a cure outside of chemo, radiation and/or surgery. To an oncologist, cancer is the disease. Chiropractic philosophy is just the opposite – cancer is the body do the right thing at the right time – a defensive self healing mechanism that has “walled off” some invader or interference that is the tumor itself. Rather than treating the cancer directly, chiropractors will implore methods of assessing underlying root causes – spinal nerve impingement to the colonic and rectal nerves located in the low back and sacrum. There are numerous case studies of patients with unresponsive colon (and other cancers) seeking chiropractic for pain relief or structural nerve repair only to find their cancer significantly reduced or eliminated.