Who is at Risk for Colon Cancer?

Eric Rieger  0:00  
Hello gut check project fans and KB MD health family. Thank you so much for joining us. This is episode number 41. I'm Eric rigger here with my co host, Dr. Kenneth Brown. How

Ken Brown  0:11  
are you doing Dr. Brown? I'm doing great, Eric. Episode 41. We're back to check project we kind of dabble between COVID this one is not it's not a COVID episode. This one's gonna be a very informative episode. And it might not be the most lighthearted topic. It might not be something but it's going to save lives. So I want anyone who's listening to this to realize what we're going to talk about is something that's pertinent in the in the media right now, and we're going to help people and that's a little teaser.

Eric Rieger  0:44  
Well, so a couple weeks ago, what prompted where we are today is Chadwick boseman. Young man actor. He succumbed to colon cancer now. He has a different story that talks about how he kept it under wraps and really No one knew that he was sick and he battled this issue after being diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. He dealt with it for four years. And really it's kind of remarkable how he just wanted to go on living a normal life and and you know, Godspeed to to him and his family. What a what a hard thing to do but what a soldier he was for him and his family to carry on and try to live a very normal life. But really what it did for me being that I'm I'll turn 45 this year. It made me look at myself and my friends and just be reminded that young and younger people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. And it's happening at a large clip far more frequently than it did decades ago. And we'll use and I think that you will also will use around 1990 ish is kind of a marker or delineation of when things started to change in these trends. But why don't you tell me Can what you think whenever you've begun to notice the trend of younger and younger adults showing up for colonoscopies and we've, we've, we've found cancer, we found cancer together with some of our own patients.

Ken Brown  2:18  
You know, you and I were talking about this and All right, so first of all, Chadwick boseman. I think one of the things about his very tragic death is what a badass. Okay? This is a guy that can act at a level that very few can get to. This is a guy that I mean, the the movies he's been in the people he's portrayed, he's been amazing and then to find out later that he was actually dealing with some of the stuff while it was going on. Absolute badass and leisure. While he was essentially dying. He was doing charitable work going out meeting with children. We're dying and everything and never once was like, Hey, this is what I'm doing. This all came out after his death. That is so amazing. And you and I were talking and I'm like, Oh my god, I did this article came out this article came out and you told me you're like, Hey, I was listening to the radio. And they were talking about Chadwick. And I really feel like he was a gastroenterologists and me as somebody that puts these people to sleep. We have to do this. And I was like, Yeah, but everybody was doing it. And you're like, No, we just need to do this because it's there. And now when I sit there and look back at how I have been trying to fight colon cancer, I'm like, wow, one of the greatest people that could move this topic that we're going to talk about, which is why in the world that a 43 year old man died of colon cancer. I want to give a why to that. Yeah, we're going to talk about today

Eric Rieger  3:58  
without questions. So it's there's really no right way to set the table here. And so forgive us here on the show if we kind of jump at different ways on how to approach this issue or colorectal cancer has been appearing far more frequently in the last two and a half decades for younger people and by younger people. It's not or it wasn't, it wasn't normal for people to have colorectal cancer before the age of 40 at all. And and now, we've seen in the last few years where the screening age has moved basically for all insurance carriers from 50 down to 45. And this is to basically capture those who need preventative intervention before it's too late. And go ahead.

Ken Brown  4:44  
Oh, no, I was just gonna say that's exactly it. You and I live this world. We talk it all the time. And now because a super likable, lovable person that was taken before his time brings light to something You and I talk about every single day, we screen people young, we find young cancers. So for me, it's like, that's, it's horrible that that happened. But we want to prevent it. And that's what this show is about. It's about finding the science, it's about talking about it. And maybe even if just one person sends their child to go get screened sooner, even if just one person listen to this, says, you know, what I've been ignoring the symptoms of my stool looks a little different, meaning it's narrow, possibly, there's little bit of blood on the toilet paper, possibly, there's something else well, then everything that we do is worth it because we have one person to go ask their doctor and say, I want to make a change. Chadwick boseman, was a tragic death. But the problem is, is that this is a trend of a growing number of people below the age of 50, who are developing colon cancer, and he had stage four colon cancer. This is horrific, it's horrible. And as two people that prevent this cancer. It's, it's, it's a timing thing. And that's what this is about.

Eric Rieger  6:08  
No question and this isn't isolated and he's not even remotely the first high profile person to die at a young age from colon cancer. If we all know who Katie Couric is her husband, James Monaghan, he died at the age of 42. In fact, I think the the GI Center in New York affiliate with the Presbyterian Hospital, there's actually named for him cheap, donated quite a bit of money to help them advance the research not only for colorectal cancer, but to start the trend of people starting to detect it earlier. So honestly, kudos to Katie Couric and and the foresight that she saw that my husband should not have died from this and he shouldn't have. We just didn't know that someone is at that age at the age of 42. Back then, which has been over 20 years ago. Yeah, that could have that could have happened. So let's get down to some of the many different things that maybe could contribute to why someone wouldn't go get checked, I'm going to leave the science part of discovering the colon cancer to you. But as someone who's 44, what are some of the reasons why someone might not go when they should go. And we'll get to the symptoms a little bit, but there's just some, some normal or abnormal things that have had have occurred over the last few years that may be contributing. Our sources of food have continuously changed quite a bit as a person who was born in the 70s. And a kid of the 80s best food was normal in learning about GMOs. Who knows no one's really made all of the connections and of course, there's a lobby that wants is more or less to somewhat ignore some of the things that could be the the key factors to allow Our body to grow these tumors etc. So, there's no doubt though, that if you were to compare my childhood with my parents who their generation does not have a high incidence of colorectal cancer, when they were in their 40s, there's obviously some type of environmental change, somehow. And I would say that food may have played a part and then there's some other things. One would be males. Traditionally, males just don't go to the doctor when there's signs and symptoms that should be sending them there. I mean, we know that here with with artron to our biggest purchasers of artron. teal, are women. Even if it's for the men in their lives, they actually are the ones who purch...