A new report found that cases of colorectal cancer in Americans under the age of 55 now make up 20 per cent of total cases across the country. Canadian data also shows it's on the rise in younger patients.
Both U.S. and Canadian data show colorectal cancer rates are on the rise among younger adults — but there’s no change in screening policies on the horizon for Canada yet, according to one expert.
“There’s obviously lifestyle factors that could be implicated here — by lifestyle factors I mean obesity, poor diet, alcohol intake and so forth — but those increase the risk for pretty much everybody, so there’s something that is happening that is not entirely clear,” he said. “We know rates are increasing in young people, but it’s alarming to see how rapidly the whole patient population is shifting younger, despite shrinking numbers in the overall population,” Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report,“The trend toward more advanced disease in people of all ages is also surprising and should motivate everyone 45 and older to get screened.
One of the main issues that doctors face when younger Canadians develop colorectal cancer is that they are less likely to pay attention to early signs, he said. “That includes things like blood in the stool, that includes things like unusual shaped stools or changes in bowel habits where you have diarrhea or constipation for a period of a couple of weeks when you’ve never had it before,” he said. “And also severe fatigue that can’t be explained in any other way.”
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