Last Tuesday (10/1), singer Preta Gil, 48, announced that she was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Singer Simony, a former member of Turma Balão Mágico, also discovered the disease at the age of 46 last year. The fact is that bowel cancer has been increasingly recurrent in younger patients.
A study conducted by researchers at Harvard University (USA) showed that some cancers, such as those of the intestine, breast, stomach and pancreas, have increased among patients under 50 years of age. These types of tumors were formerly more common among older patients. The results were published in the journal Nature Reviews Clinical of Oncology in September last year.
The researchers reviewed cancer registries from 44 countries and found that the incidence of early onset is rapidly increasing in several middle-to-high-income countries. This means that it is not a matter of lack of health resources.
Among the reasons cited by scientists is society’s lifestyle. The high consumption of ultra-processed foods, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and sleep disturbances are among the habits that favor the onset of the disease.
The use of more accurate technologies in detecting tumors may also be contributing to the earlier diagnosis of cancers that spread slowly, according to the researchers.
Understand bowel cancer
According to oncologist Carlos Tadeu Garrote, from Hospital Brasília, bowel cancer encompasses rectal cancer and colon cancer, the cause of death of former soccer players Pelé and Roberto Dinamite.
The disease is more common following 60 years of age and is curable as long as it is detected early, especially before it affects other organs.
“When diagnosed in younger patients, bowel cancer has a more aggressive behavior. This is because, in addition to bad habits, they are discovered late, making the treatment process difficult”, says the oncologist.
The bowel cancer that affects Preta Gil is of the adenocarcinoma type. Garrote explains that adenocarcinoma is a malignant tumor that forms in the glandular tissue that covers some internal organs. These glands produce and release substances into the body, such as mucus, digestive juices, and other fluids.
Prevention
After the incidence in younger patients, the American Cancer Society, lowered from 50 to 45 years the recommendation of colonoscopy, the main test used to detect the disease.
Oncologist Carlos Tadeu Garrote points out that if a person has a history of inflammatory bowel disease, this recommendation should be reduced. The interval at which the colonoscopy exam should be done depends on what was detected in previous exams.
Changing lifestyle habits are also important to prevent the incidence of bowel cancer, such as reducing the intake of red meat and ultra-processed foods, smoking and alcohol.
