Santo Domingo.- Dr. Mirna Arias, general surgeon and coloproctologist at Hospiten Santo Domingo, expressed her alarm at the large number of young people in the country who, they believe, bleed due to hemorrhoids, “and generally when it is studied, what we are seeing is a “very rapid increase in the number of people who develop colon and rectal cancer at an early age.”
He explained that 95% of people who suffer from colon cancer are caused by environmental risk factors, poor diet, processed foods, alcohol and tobacco, “this type of cancer being the second cause of death in men, after prostate cancer, and the same in women after breast cancer.”
Likewise, the specialist said that patients who have inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, “are at greater risk of developing colon cancer.”
He said that colon cancer can have a metastatic origin, where another organ sends cancer cells to the colon, and constipation is considered an initial symptom of suffering from the disease.
Arias defined polyps as premalignant lesions, which is why he recommended doing a colonoscopy for colon cancer screening, starting at age 45, “because the protocols have already changed, before it was at age 50.”
In other words, he indicated, screening to detect colon cancer should begin at age 45 in people who do not have a family history of colon cancer, “because if there is a family history, it must be investigated long before, because 5% of these cancers They could be hereditary. In other words, they come by inheritance.”
The health professional reported that colon cancer is closely related to hemorrhoidal disease, “not because hemorrhoidal disease leads to colon cancer, but because the symptoms are similar.”
“Most people who have colon cancer who come to my office say: doctor, I have had hemorrhoids for a long time, with bleeding and pain. When it is checked, it usually has a lesion that is then studied with a colonoscopy and cancer is diagnosed,” he explained.
The Hospiten professional assured that the presence of blood in the stool, even if it is diarrhea, is a non-specific symptom of colon cancer, but it constitutes a warning sign, “because bleeding is not normal.”
He recommended that when changes occur in the evacuation habit, such as bleeding when evacuating, pain or a prolax mass occurs through the anal canal, the correct thing to do is to seek help from a specialist, be it a gastroenterologist or a coloproctologist.
Dr. Arias said that when hemorrhoids occur, the first thing is to treat the cause, “see what is causing the hemorrhoidal disease. “Usually, people sit in the bathroom with their cell phones, eat poorly, get constipated, and push during bowel movements.”
“This is also seen when there are episodes of diarrhea, people who lead a very sedentary life. In the case of women, hemorrhoidal disease is more common due to hormonal changes, pregnancies, childbirth, all of that affects,” she said.
He described people who take a long time in the toilet with newspaper or cell phone as a bad habit, “because the brain understands that it is reading and forgets to evacuate. The desire returns, but it takes a long time, giving rise to hemorrhoids.”
For evacuation, he recommended the use of the potty bank, which elevates the legs “and makes a type of angle where this is supposed to be how one should evacuate, because there are people who have pelvic floor problems and when they elevate their leg, evacuation occurs.” it is easier. It is not mandatory, but it is good.”
About Hospital
Hospiten is an international health network committed to providing a top quality service, with more than 50 years of experience, which has 20 private medical-hospital centers in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama, and more than 150 outpatient medical centers, under the Clinic Assist brand. Founded by Dr. Pedro Luis Cobiella, it serves more than two million patients from all over the world annually, and has a staff of more than 5,000 people.
