Increase in colon and rectal cancers in young people

[Deb]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/well ... -news&_r=1

This is pretty concerning and no one is sure why.

Obesity and sedentary lifestyles are also associated with colorectal cancer, as are heavy alcohol use and chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and Type 2 diabetes, all of which are on the rise. But experts are not entirely convinced these are the only reasons colorectal cancer is increasing among young people. While rates of cancers tied to human papillomavirus, or HPV, have been rising in recent years, that virus causes mainly cancers of the cervix, anus or the back of the throat, and only a small number of cases of rectal cancer.
The honest truth is nobody knows 100 percent why there is an increase,” said Dr. Mohamed E. Salem, an assistant professor at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. He said that he is older than about 60 percent of his patients — and he is 42. “It’s hard to blame it on obesity alone. We suspect there is also something else going on.”

[tex]

Hi Deb,

Interesting news. I have a hunch that we are seeing the fallout resulting from the last few decades of increasing prevalence of vitamin D and magnesium deficiency. As I have detailed in my vitamin D and pancreatic cancer books (supported by medical research references) both deficiencies are strongly associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Thanks for the link.

Tex

[Polly]

Hi All!

Yes, the increase is of alarming proportions, and I would guess that it's diet-related.

Or due to something toxic that has been increasing in the environment..........like...........wait for it...........TA DA............ROUNDUP (glyphosphate). I have been alarmed by the studies showing the amounts of glyphosphate that can be found in human bodies now, not to mention in so many of the processed foods. And the younger folks eat lots of processed food (any food really) that has been contaminated with increasing amounts of glyphosphate over the last few decades. Most of the glycosphate passes through the body unmetabolized and is excreted in the feces and urine. So GI tracts are now being exposed constantly to this chemical And we know that, despite what Monsanto claims on its Roundup label about having no effect on humans or animals, the chemical DOES in fact negatively affect an enzyme system in certain human gut microbia. And of course, remember that the World Health Org. has labelled Roundup as a "possible carcinogen" (or is it probable?).

I was interested to see Gabes' post recently about Roundup in pantyliners being a possible cause for skin issues.....i.e.lichen sclerosis. This may be the tip of the iceberg.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Polly

[Gabes-Apg]

Toxins in general are depleting key nutrients like Vit D3 and magnesium etc

Roundup, EMF, mold, radiation, GMO ingredients in processed and take away food, chemical sugars etc etc...

[brandy]

Pop Pop Reed farmed corn and soybeans for decades around Milford Delaware. He got a stripe of skin cancer on both legs above his boots and around the bottom of his pants line. He was exposed to a lot of Roundup and other chemicals walking through the fields as a farmer. Roundup and Roundup ready crops are heavily used on the Delmarva peninsula.

My ex husband wore full on chemical protective gear anytime he sprayed roundup or other ag chemicals.....gauntlet gloves up to the elbow, face masks etc.

Young folks raised in the 2000's eat significantly more processed foods than those raised in the 60's or 70's.

It is "uncool" for an American kid to have a lunch at school that is not a "lunchable" (processed lunch-made in a factory for those in Europe or Australia).

I agree with Polly....diet related.

[Deb]

Polly, my first thought was the Round-Up. Deb

[Polly]

Deb,

Great minds........lol.

Polly

[tex]

Polly,

I should have seen that one coming.

As you are well aware, I'd love to see more substantial scientific/medical proof, but I have to agree with you that the stuff has become absolutely ubiquitous and that's worrisome.

I'm not Monsanto's biggest fan by any means, but if anyone is out to make a case against the product that is meaningful, I don't understand why researchers can't find a more substantial clue than a change in an enzyme produced by a species of gut bacteria. Statistically, it would probably be impossible to find any chemical in existence that does not cause an enzyme change of some type in some species of gut bacteria. But so what? That's really not substantial evidence of anything incriminating. It's just evidence that it's possible to find physiological changes in bacterial species exposed to various chemicals (in vivo or not). I would truly love to see some real evidence of something substantial before many more generations go by. Roundup has been on the market for over 42 years now. How much time do researchers need? Surely Monsanto doesn't have the market cornered on qualified researchers.

As for the WHO, they see the cause of cancer everywhere they look. First they blame meat. They blame glyphosate. And I notice on their latest blog, they even blame ageing as "a fundamental factor for the development of cancer". So I reckon we old codgers bring it on ourselves by the mere act of becoming old codgers.

Seriously though, when colon cancer rates are increasing in younger people, it's pretty obvious that something may be going terribly wrong with our food production and/or processing industry. And I'm not just talking about the domestic industry — I'm talking about world-wide food trade. I believe that another overlooked issue here is the fact that the timing of this trend correlates with a huge expansion in world trade. When I was a kid, probably 90 to 95 % of the food I ate was locally sourced, and the rest came from other areas of this country. My gut biome had no trouble recognizing any of the food that passed through my gut because for many, many generations it had evolved with it.

When we chow down these days, there's no telling where most of the food we are consuming actually originated. We have no idea where or how it was produced and processed. We don't even know who inspected and approved it for import. But the big issue here is that our gut biome most definitely does not match the gut biome of any of the indigenous people of any of those countries. And that's another serious concern, IMO.

Remember all the old jokes about Montezuma's revenge for anyone who traveled from the U. S. to Mexico? There's a reason why that happened — gut biome mismatch.

Tex

[starfire]

Makes sense, Tex, as usual.

[Blueberry]

I wonder if the increase in colon and rectal cancer is due to newer tests, diagnosis methods and cancer definitions? That at least has been a complaint I've read in the past about different cancer diagnosis. Some argue about how different cancers are defined such as thyroid, breast, prostate, skin cancers, etc. Just a guess. As an example of that ~

"Thyroid tumours are not always cancer, scientists say after groundbreaking study
“To my knowledge, this is the first time in the modern era a type of cancer is being reclassified as a non-cancer”, one researcher declared"

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 12651.html

excerpt:

...He said: “The big lesson here is that the nomenclature of a disease should reflect its clinical risks and behaviours and not only its appearance at the microscopic or molecular level. To put it simply, it is not because you dress like a criminal that you are one. The tumour should not be labelled cancer only on its appearance but on its clinical behaviour.

“This lesson could be applied to all diseases malignant or not. The cancers that can be affected are prostate, lung, breast and non-melanoma skin cancers among others. If reclassification of indolent lesions is performed in some of these common cancers, it will affect health care at so many levels from the psychological burden of cancer to therapy, screening and of course it will impact costs significantly.”