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Britt Jones
Gen Z has been urged to complete one test after cases of a certain cancer has increased to scary levels in the under 30s age group.
This once specific cancer type is rapidly becoming a problem among Gen Z, and while the symptoms can be easily dismissed, getting one basic test carried out could save your life.
While many cancers tend to develop over years and are formally diagnosed in your mid-to-later years, this cancer is increasingly growing in the under-30s age group.
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Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer or colon cancer, is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with approximately 44,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Because of the sharp rise in the younger generation, a surgeon is pleading with Gen Z to get a basic test to avoid a future cancer battle.
Dr Mark Soliman explained that he is seeing more and more people in their 20s who have been diagnosed with the ‘100% preventable’ disease.
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As we’re now in the awareness month (March) for colorectal cancer, the specialist is using it as an opportunity to promote a basic stool test.
However, he understands that talking about your bowel movement can be embarrassing.
He said: “Patients getting diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer are getting younger and younger.
“I’m seeing patients in their mid-20s with aggressive cancer.
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“As a surgeon, it is heartbreaking to witness because it is 100% preventable. But people are too embarrassed to talk to their doctor about their bowel movements or the color of their stool.
“I would much rather inconvenience a patient with a simple stool test or colonoscopy than treat them for cancer.”
Soliman, who has launched SurgeOn, a social media app for surgeons to share advice with one another, shared that people in this modern time are living sedentary lifestyles, without movement, activities and exercises.
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He also noted that the adoption of ultra-processed-foods is an issue and that many don’t eat enough fibre.
“It’s not that far of a stretch to link these issues together with the rise in colon cancer among younger patients,” he said.
He noted that getting tested before the symptoms start to present themselves is key, as by that time, it is often too late to treat it.
“The symptoms for colon cancer, unfortunately, are late,” he said. “Those can be changes in bowel habits, whether it’s in the feeling of increasing constipation, a change in the diameter of the stool, or rectal bleeding.
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“Sometimes intense rectal pressure can be kind of a late-stage sign of rectal cancer, but these are all very vague.
“That’s why it’s so important to get screening exams like colonoscopy or some of the DNA tests or stool tests that we can get.”
Soliman went on to suggest adopting regular exercise, a balanced diet and cutting out smoked meats if you want to prevent colon cancer as 'patients who do work out and have a typically healthier whole food diet are at lower risk'.