7 ms·

Tell us the ugly truth then paint a happy picture. “for one in six deaths around the world, killing nearly 10 million people a year globally and over 600,000 p

Tell us the ugly truth then paint a happy picture. “for one in six deaths around the world, killing nearly 10 million people a year globally and over 600,000 people a year in the US.” A lot of reduced deaths come from less smoking and early detection. We will eventually get there but we need a lot more research. Get a colonoscopy at 45. We are seeing a big increase in younger people. https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/colorectal-cancer-awareness-month https://www.cancerresearch.org/blog/colorectal-cancer-awaren...

bravesoul2 1y ago
Thanks for the reminder. My containers to shit in are waiting to be picked up from the doctor's office. Looks like colonoscopy is better from your link.
- hn_throwaway_99 1y ago
  The issue with things like cologuard is they really only detect cancer. Colonoscopies can prevent cancer by having polyps removed before they turn into cancer. Colonoscopy is a more invasive procedure obviously, but complication rates are very low. It's worth it to find a great gastroenterologist to do the procedure.
  - bravesoul2 1y ago
    Yeah wish I had grabbed one last time I had an endoscopy.
fnordpiglet 1y ago
I know at least a dozen people in my family and friend network that are alive now after treatment from a cancer that was fatal in most cases 20 years ago. That’s not proof by any measure but I am certainly thankful it’s not 20 years ago.
mkfs 1y ago
[flagged]
andreareina 1y ago
> Get a colonoscopy at 45. We are seeing a big increase in younger people. N.B. this is not just an increase in detection (as could happen with more/better screening where the true rate isn't changing), but mortality: > In people under 55, however, death rates have been increasing about 1% per year since the mid-2000s. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/abou...
- margalabargala 1y ago
  It's certainly the case that colorectal cancer is becoming more common, and among younger people. Plenty of possible reasons; diet, plastics, PFAS, all of the above, take your pick. However, the fact that mortality has been decreasing above the age of frequent screenings, and increasing below that age, tells us that whatever the problem, the symptom (cancer) could be addressed with better screening, leading to earlier detection and treatment. Mortality is increasing in young people because they don't get screened, so when it does happened no one catches anything until it's too late. If the age for recommended regular colonoscopies was 40 or 45, we would see the same mortality reduction above that cutoff.
  - oarfish 1y ago
    > Plenty of possible reasons; diet, plastics, PFAS, all of the above, take your pick. I think obesity is the main confounder in all such statistics. Thats the thing that has most markedly gone up over the past decades
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - jajko 1y ago
      You don't know that. Environment is much more polluted, and thus is our food. We move less. And so on.
      - 1y ago
duffpkg 1y ago
FOBT which you can do painlessly at home for a few dollars is not meaningfully less preventative than an invasive colonoscopy and carries almost no risk. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375
- N_Lens 1y ago
  FOBT = Fecal Occult Blood Test (A highly sensitive test for detecting blood in poop even at tiny concentrations).
- ljf 1y ago
  Very true, and this is what caught my father's bowel cancer and saved his life. That said, for someone with increased risk, nothing compares to a colonoscopy - at it does a better job of catching things early, before you start getting blood in your poo. But if you are at a standard risk, doing a fobt every couple-few years is hugely important. Ask your doctor now!
  - dillydogg 1y ago
    The superior stool based test would be the FIT-DNA test, which compares favorably to a colonoscopy in sensitivity. These are covered by insurance in the US. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1311194
    - ljf 1y ago
      I had not heard of those - I'll have to look out to see if the NHS offers these. Currently on 5 yearly review until I hit 50, as my oldest brother had the same cancer at 56, which sadly took his life, so I am not of standard risk. Reading summary of that paper: "The numbers of persons who would need to be screened to detect one cancer were 154 with colonoscopy, 166 with DNA testing, and 208 with FIT." So I'll still stick with a colonoscopy until something better comes along.
- vharuck 1y ago
  However, if pre-cancerous polyps are found during a colonoscopy, they can be removed right then. Of course, the best prevention is one that people actually do.
wat10000 1y ago
Until things radically change, people are always going to die of something. The more people avoid death from other things, the more people live long enough to die from cancer.
TechDebtDevin 1y ago
Prostate cost nothing now in your 30s too

bravesoul2 1y ago

Thanks for the reminder. My containers to shit in are waiting to be picked up from the doctor's office. Looks like colonoscopy is better from your link.

hn_throwaway_99 1y ago
The issue with things like cologuard is they really only detect cancer. Colonoscopies can prevent cancer by having polyps removed before they turn into cancer. Colonoscopy is a more invasive procedure obviously, but complication rates are very low. It's worth it to find a great gastroenterologist to do the procedure.
- bravesoul2 1y ago
  Yeah wish I had grabbed one last time I had an endoscopy.

fnordpiglet 1y ago

I know at least a dozen people in my family and friend network that are alive now after treatment from a cancer that was fatal in most cases 20 years ago. That’s not proof by any measure but I am certainly thankful it’s not 20 years ago.

mkfs 1y ago

[flagged]

andreareina 1y ago

> Get a colonoscopy at 45. We are seeing a big increase in younger people. N.B. this is not just an increase in detection (as could happen with more/better screening where the true rate isn't changing), but mortality: > In people under 55, however, death rates have been increasing about 1% per year since the mid-2000s. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/colon-rectal-cancer/abou...

margalabargala 1y ago
It's certainly the case that colorectal cancer is becoming more common, and among younger people. Plenty of possible reasons; diet, plastics, PFAS, all of the above, take your pick. However, the fact that mortality has been decreasing above the age of frequent screenings, and increasing below that age, tells us that whatever the problem, the symptom (cancer) could be addressed with better screening, leading to earlier detection and treatment. Mortality is increasing in young people because they don't get screened, so when it does happened no one catches anything until it's too late. If the age for recommended regular colonoscopies was 40 or 45, we would see the same mortality reduction above that cutoff.
- oarfish 1y ago
  > Plenty of possible reasons; diet, plastics, PFAS, all of the above, take your pick. I think obesity is the main confounder in all such statistics. Thats the thing that has most markedly gone up over the past decades
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - jajko 1y ago
    You don't know that. Environment is much more polluted, and thus is our food. We move less. And so on.
    - 1y ago

duffpkg 1y ago

FOBT which you can do painlessly at home for a few dollars is not meaningfully less preventative than an invasive colonoscopy and carries almost no risk. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2208375

N_Lens 1y ago
FOBT = Fecal Occult Blood Test (A highly sensitive test for detecting blood in poop even at tiny concentrations).
ljf 1y ago
Very true, and this is what caught my father's bowel cancer and saved his life. That said, for someone with increased risk, nothing compares to a colonoscopy - at it does a better job of catching things early, before you start getting blood in your poo. But if you are at a standard risk, doing a fobt every couple-few years is hugely important. Ask your doctor now!
- dillydogg 1y ago
  The superior stool based test would be the FIT-DNA test, which compares favorably to a colonoscopy in sensitivity. These are covered by insurance in the US. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1311194
  - ljf 1y ago
    I had not heard of those - I'll have to look out to see if the NHS offers these. Currently on 5 yearly review until I hit 50, as my oldest brother had the same cancer at 56, which sadly took his life, so I am not of standard risk. Reading summary of that paper: "The numbers of persons who would need to be screened to detect one cancer were 154 with colonoscopy, 166 with DNA testing, and 208 with FIT." So I'll still stick with a colonoscopy until something better comes along.
vharuck 1y ago
However, if pre-cancerous polyps are found during a colonoscopy, they can be removed right then. Of course, the best prevention is one that people actually do.

wat10000 1y ago

Until things radically change, people are always going to die of something. The more people avoid death from other things, the more people live long enough to die from cancer.

TechDebtDevin 1y ago

Prostate cost nothing now in your 30s too