Causes of Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is not contagious. There are people who are more likely to develop colon cancer more so than others.

Chronic ulcerative colitis, polyps found in the large intestine, colorectal cancer and polyps being found in a person's family medical history, and a high fat diet can increase a person's chance of developing colon cancer.

Colon Cancer and Your Diet

Anyone who has a high fat diet are more predisposed to colon cancer. There are countries with high colorectal cancer rates due to the populations having a very high fat intake.

Carcinogens are the cancer-causing chemicals produced from the breakdown of metabolic fat products. To rid your bowel of the carcinogens that can cause these chemicals, you should try adding vegetables and high fiber foods to your diet. As this type of foods are natural types of laxatives that allow your bowels to flow more freely.

Polyps on the Colon and Colon Cancer

It is believed that many instances of colon cancer starts with polyps on the colon. Doctors feel removing the benign polyps found on the colon can prevent cancer in this area of the body. Chromosome damage to the cells of the inner lining can cause polyps on the colon.

Chromosomes are inherited genetic information we all receive from our parents. The healthy chromosomes control the growth of cells in our bodies. Damaged chromosomes will cause the uncontrolled growth of the cells which cause the polyps to grow in the intestine wall lining. In general, the colon polyps start out as benign, but if left untreated they can become cancerous through the chromosome damage.

Colon Cancer and Ulcerative Colitis

Those who have chronic ulcerative colitis, the risk of colon cancer becomes much higher than those who don't. After 10 years of chronic ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer becomes a higher risk for individuals.

Colon Cancer and Genetics

A family history is very important for your doctors and yourself when it comes to exams. They play an important part in detecting cancer, such as colon cancer. For those who are immediate family members of colon cancer victims, there is a 18 percent higher risk of colon cancer over any other resident of the United States.

However, there are about an 8 percent of people who have no signs of colon cancer in their families that have contracted colon cancer. Approximately 20 percent of those who have cancer in their family will contract colon cancer. Another 5 percent of colon cancer is due to hereditary colon cancer issues. Many of the hereditary colon cancer symptoms found in patients can expect someone else in their family to be affected by colon cancer due to the genetics passed to family members.

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

FAP is the hereditary colon cancer syndrome which affects family members with numerous of polyps on their colons as teens. If the familial adenomatous polyposis is caught early enough, which usually means removing the colon, colon cancer will diminish, but if not, chances of colon cancer will surely develop. If it isn't detected and treated early, many will develop colon cancer in their 40's. This will also put them at risk for other related cancers. These types of cancers can spread to the stomach, thyroids, ad the bile ducts that drain into the duodenum. This bile duct area just past the stomach is called the ampulla.

Attenuated Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

Those who have AFAP will develop fewer polyps than those with FAP. Even though attenuated familial adenomatous polyposis is a milder case of familial adenomatous polyposis, anyone who has it can develop colon cancer at a young age. Also, anyone who has AFAP is also at risk of having duodenal and gastric polyps.

Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colon Cancer

HNPCC is a hereditary colon cancer where family members with a history of colon cancer can develop the polyps and cancers of the colon. This usually occurs in the right colon for those who are in their early age range of 30 and 40. Some of those who have HNPCC can also develop uterine and ovarian cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the tubes which connect the kidneys to the bladder, and biliary tract cancer.

MYH Polyposis Syndrome

MYHPS is a newly discovered hereditary colon cancer. Those who become affected with this syndrome normally develop between 10 and 100 polyps on their colons when near or shortly pass their 40's. They are also at high risk of developing colon cancer.

These are some of the causes of colon and rectum cancer. However, at with anything that is a hereditary health issue in your family, yearly exams, at a minimum, should be scheduled with your physician. Keeping an eye on such hereditary conditions can make a difference in early detections and treatment.