The Syndrome Of Colorectal Cancer - Essay Example

Synopsis On A Case Study Of Colorectal Cancer Table of Contents Introduction to John’s Case Study 1 Reduce Risk 3 Find the Condition Early 4 Have the Best Treatment and Support during Active Treatment 5 Have the Best Treatment and Support Between and After Active Treatment 6 Conclusion 7 7 References 8 Introduction to John’s Case Study John is a 62 year old male and is suffering from a syndrome called ‘colorectal cancer’. It has been learnt from the provided case study that John is a cancer patient who is planning or rather intending to get a medical test done regarding this syndrome. Prior to the test, John had no idea that he was suffering from cancer. He is known to be a person engaged with regular physical exercises and is supposed to be quite conscious regarding his health. His wife, Carol forced him to get a medical test done concerning the syndrome to which John initially refused (Cancer Australia, 2012). However, after getting the report of the medical test, John and his wife Carol learnt that he was suffering from colorectal cancer. John was appalled with the diagnosis as he was completely unprepared for such a result. A doctor suggested him a surgeon who particularly dealt with such kind of diseases and offered hope towards fighting and surviving this grave disease. The surgeon explained the procedure of treatment and therapy that John needed to undergo before and after the surgery. After performing a surgery, the physician discussed about the treatments in relation to the disease from which John was suffering. The physician broke the news to John that he was gravely affected with high level of cancer in his abdominal. John undertook several tests to determine the accuracy of the statement made by the physician and found it to be true (Australian Government Cancer Australia, 2012). Reduce Risk The joint report published by the ‘Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)’ and the ‘Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (AACR)’ focuses on delivering a thorough update regarding the changes in cancer endurance in Australia since 2001, when the first national cancer report was published. It delivers a trend statistics regarding the survival of persons affected with invasive cancer from 1982-1986 to 1998-2004, as well as analyzes the survival outcome in terms of age, geographic provinces, sex and socioeconomic status. During the period of 1982-2004, the statistical reports concerning the frequency of invasive cancer in Australia provided an account of 1.6 million cases. This was the period when cancer-related survivals were examined in terms of their gender, age and period of treatment, as well as survival period, geographic provinces and socioeconomic status. Moreover this report also provided the prevalence calculation regarding all these aspects (Alteri et. al., 2011). In Australia, during 2007, the risk of colorectal cancer was identified during the age of 85 which was 10 for men and 14 for women. This risk was noticeable and increased from the age of 45. In 2007, there were 14234 fresh patients who were diagnosed with the disease and 4047 deaths were recorded which were caused due to colorectal cancer. Colorectal is considered to be amongst the most common forms of cancer which was mostly found in men. In the past five years, 23145 men were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Australia. In case of women, it was the second most common form of cancer and18940 women were identified in the past few decades and in the last 23 years, 43286 women were found to be affected by this disease (Alteri et. al., 2011). In the period of 1998-2004, 61% male and 62% female were identified as the survivors of colorectal cancer. This statistic signified a considerable degree of improvement in terms of the survival statistics in comparison to the period of 1982-1986, where just 48% male and 50% female survived this disease. On the basis of religion, differences and socioeconomic status, a few important differences were recorded in the five year survival statistics of colorectal cancer. From 1997 to 2004, 62% of the total population in urban areas and 58% of the population in rural areas were learnt to be affected by colorectal cancer. Moreover, from 2000 to 2004, 66% of the total population of underprivileged socioeconomic status in the urban areas and 60% in the rural areas were affected by this form of cancer. In Australia, from 1998-2004, different kinds of survival patients were found among which 97% survived ‘thyroid cancer’, 92% survived ‘skin melanoma cancer’, 88% survived ‘breast cancer’ and 85% survived from ‘prostate cancer’ (Andrews et. al., n. d.). Find the Condition Early Symptoms of colorectal cancer are not usually revealed until it reaches the final stage. Treatments with regard to this form of cancer are considered to be successful only if the disease gets detected during the early stages. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there were nine guidelines of screening which helped to ascertain the presence of enough evidence to justify the consideration of conducting a ‘population based screening program’. On the basis of these guidelines, three ‘population based screening program’ regarding cervical, breast and colorectal cancers are carried out in Australia. An individual with colorectal cancer or the one with such disease in the family through generations may be at a higher risk of getting diagnosed with this form of cancer and therefore, should undertake the screening program along with consulting their respective professionals (Australian Government Cancer Australia, 2012). By taking into deliberation the above mentioned factors, the Australian government is known to undertake various measures in the local as well as national level by developing a complete chronic disease avoidance strategy. The ‘National Cancer Prevention Policy of 2007 to 2009’ attempts to provide specific advises in order to ensure the avoidance as well as early detection of these types of cancer in Australia. This policy also recommends a healthy lifestyle for reducing the risks of colorectal cancer for the people of all age group (Segal & Saltz, 2009). The recommended healthy lifestyle practices are: Exercise regularly Maintain a healthy weight by avoiding high calorie foods, consuming more nutritional foods such as cereal fibers, vegetables and fruits Avoid or limit alcohol consumption Avoid smoking Have the Best Treatment and Support during Active Treatment Colorectal cancer is a kind of malignant tumor which is initiated from the bowel wall of the abdominal. Generally, this tumor is diagnosed before it starts spreading all over the bowel wall. There are various types of colorectal cancer such as ‘mucinous (colloid) adenocarcinoma’, signet ring adenocarcinoma’, scirrhous tumors and neuroendocrine. Staging is the treatment of the cornerstone planning for colon cancer. However, no consistent pre-operative staging system is learnt to exist. The pre-operative staging system is known to comprise CT scans of abdomen, pelvis and x-ray of chest which is helpful to diagnose the extent till which the tumor is believed to have spread in the body (Toth, 2006). The purpose of surgical treatment of colorectal cancer is to ensure the clearance of the tumor and at the same time protecting the anal sphincter function as well as avoiding injury to the pelvic autonomous nerves. The surgery of this cancer entails the possibility of producing poorer results in terms of life, local reappearance and chances of survival post surgery. During the preparation of the surgery, haematological and medical tests need to be conducted. Surgery should be avoided if the potential risks are indentified to outweigh the possible benefits during the surgical procedure. This is supposed to be applicable for those patients who are considered to be medically unfit for the surgery and have diseases other than cancer (Mayer, 2009). Have the Best Treatment and Support Between and After Active Treatment The Australian government outlined certain guidelines which need to be pursued after the removal of a body organ for the reason of treating colorectal cancer. Identifying second main tumors: The reappearance of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps after four years of continuous healing treatment has been recorded to be 7.7% and 6.2% respectively. Early detection of reappearance: Improved results may be attained through early diagnosis of the reappearance of this disease which makes it curable. Recently, advanced equipments have been launched to identify the reappearance of colon cancer after the healing surgery treatment. The percentage of ratio in Australia for colorectal cancer specifies that a huge number of individuals are surviving after the curable treatment of colorectal cancer. An assessment of studies regarding individuals affected with colorectal cancer and surviving for more than five years were learnt to constantly experience negative effects in their regular life after the completion of curable therapy (Australian Government: National Health and Medical Research Council , 2005). Conclusion From the overall study it can be inferred that John is an individual who is suffering from colorectal cancer. Colorectal is regarded as a kind of cancer, which is determined only in the final stage. In Australia, majority of the patients are known to survive colorectal cancer. Australian government takes various initiatives as well as develops various guidelines to educate people about the cancer and its treatment. But it has been also observed in this regard that most of the individuals in Australia are not quite aware about this specific form of cancer. Therefore, Australian government needs to undertake increasingly effective initiatives concerning this disease and should conduct a medical survey as well test for diagnosing all kinds of cancer. References Australian Government Cancer Australia, 2012. Video Case Study: Watch John Story. Edcan Learning Resources. [Online] Available at: http://www.cancerlearning.gov.au/edcan_resources/#/xml/module_3/casestudies/colorectal_cancer [Accessed October 3, 2012]. Australian Government: National Health and Medical Research Council, 2005. Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention, Early Detection and Management of Colorectal Cancer. Clinical Practice Guidelines. [Online] Available at: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/synopses/cp106/cp106.pdf [Accessed October 3, 2012] Alteri, R. et. al., 2011. Colorectal Cancer: Facts & Figures. American Cancer Society, pp. 1-31. Andrews, L. et. al., N. d. Impact of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis on Young Adults: Quality of Life Outcomes. Diseases of the Colon & Rectum, Vol. 50, No. 9, pp. 1306-1315. Mayer, R. J., 2009. Targeted Therapy for Advanced Colorectal Cancer - More Is Not Always Better. The New England Journal of Medicine, pp. 623-625. Segal, N. H. & Saltz, L. B., 2009. Evolving Treatment of Advanced Colon Cancer. The Annual Review of Medicine, pp. 207-219. Toth, P. E., 2006. Ostomy Care and Rehabilitation Colorectal Cancer. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 174 –177. Read More