Colorectal

Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are extremely painful and can lead to colorectal cancer.

Earlier this month, The Lancet medical journal published findings from a study of aspirin and cancer. Researchers followed almost one thousand patients who had Lynch syndrome — a genetic condition that makes them likely to develop some cancers. One group of patients took six hundred milligrams of aspirin a day for at least two years. These patients had a sixty-three percent lower risk of colorectal cancer than those who took a harmless substance or placebo. The longer they took aspirin, the lower their risk of cancer.

Previous studies have identified family history and abnormal growths, called colon polyps, as the main factors for colorectal cancer.

She has always struggled with her gastrointestinal health, and when she started to have symptoms similar to those of colorectal cancer, she called her primary care physician, who referred her to a gastroenterologist, who ordered a colonoscopy. She did not have cancer.