Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

According to the National Cancer Institute, colorectal cancer is now among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in younger adults. It's why the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has lowered the recommended age for starting colon cancer screening from 50 to 45.

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

What we're seeing is a really alarming trend where a disease that used to be considered that of middle-age or older individuals now is affecting people as young as their 20s, 30s, 40s.

So, often those patients are presenting, thinking that their symptoms are due to stress or diet, and often they're presenting at a later stage requiring more intervention and more likelihood for surgery.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

So, how do you know if you're having the symptoms? What are the risk factors you're looking for? What should people be looking out for?

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

So, there are many symptoms, and what can be confusing is the symptoms may be attributable to many different causes, one of which could be colorectal cancer.

With regard to bowel movements, it could be change in the frequency of bowel movements, the consistency, the difficulty passing the stools, feeling like you need to run to the bathroom all of a sudden seeing blood in the stool -- in any form would be a reason to seek medical attention.

Abdominal pain, bloating, fatigue, nausea, inability to eat in the normal way that you do, or unintentional weight loss would all be potential signs of concern for colorectal cancer.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

What are the best ways to protect yourself? What can we all do, particularly the young people, what can they do in terms of keeping their eyes out and trying to figure out if they need to be concerned about it?

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

So, 45 is the new 50, which is really important to know. I fall into that age category, so I'm in the peer group that needs to catch up and make sure we're all on top of our screening.

Knowing your family history is really critical. A lot of patients I'll have when I ask, do you have any family history? They don't know. They're afraid to ask. Because one of the biggest risk factors for colorectal cancer is a family history of either polyps or cancer.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

When you're talking about colorectal cancer, it always comes down to that question of the colonoscopy, the great colonoscopy, right? You know, that's the goal. Is that you still think that's the gold standard?

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

So, the most important thing is to get screened and not to let any concerns regarding the invasiveness of the test, the prep, the risks to get in the way.

While colonoscopy is still the gold standard, any type of screening that an individual is willing to do is better than no screening. So, I definitely want to convey that.

With that being said, colonoscopy is definitely still the gold standard. And the reason for that is it allows us to identify polyps. and early cancers and remove them all in one setting.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

One of the stories that we did recently was on how yogurt can potentially help against colon cancer. And another one also talked about how calcium rate might help prevent colon cancer. I'm curious, you know, whether you think there are preventative steps that people can be taking to help them potentially avoid the situation.

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

There is increasing research that shows that alterations or changes in the composition of the bacteria that live in our gut could play a role in inflammation and cancer. And so being able to control the population of bacteria in your gut by eating things that are healthful like yogurt plays a role, the extent to which and the ability for us to really impact cancer rates with that approach is not known. but it's definitely intriguing and I think worthy of more research.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

Another thing that we came across is the possibility that taking regular aspirin could be a help in preventing recurrence of colon cancer.

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

Aspirin is really well studied and there are many advantages of aspirin. It's inexpensive, it's accessible and it has been shown in multiple studies to have positive effects on preventing recurrence and polyps. The disadvantage is, is it can cause upper GI irritation and ulcer formation. So, it's important before starting an aspirin to speak with your healthcare provider to weigh the pros and cons of taking aspirin for chemo prevention.

Andy Meyers, CEO, HealthDay

We're talking about the effects on younger people. What's the best way to get the message out to the, to, to Gen Z, to the Millennials, to the Gen Xers.

Jennifer Davids, MD, Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Boston Medical Center

I think quite simply having the conversations, de-stigmatizing, talking about bowel symptoms, polyps, colons. I love seeing on social media and news networks when celebrities talk about their colonoscopy or when it comes up in daily conversation. This is a reality for all of us and it's important to look out for each other, look out for your peers, your family.

Colon Cancer is on the Rise in Young Adults. What You Need to Know.

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