Healthy Living and Common Health Problems.

Hong Kong Community College

CCN1015

Healthy Living and Common Health Problems

Topic: Health Problem, management and prevention

1. Cancer

Cancer is a disease that cells develop in an irregular way. Many people were diagnosed with and died from cancer each year. According to the statistics, the incidence of cancer in 2015 was 30 thousand people while the mortality of cancer was 14 thousand people (Hong Kong Cancer Registry, 2016). Since cancer is a serious problem, one of the common cancers which is colorectal cancer will be discussed. Colorectal cancer occurs when malignant neoplasm grows in the large intestine. People are apt to mix up with hemorrhoid as they also have bloody stools (“Hemorrhoid vs”, n.d.).

Apart from blood in the stools, there are some common symptoms of colorectal cancer that need our attention. Normally, the sufferer's bowel habits change, including diarrhea and constipation over a long period, a sensation of incomplete defecation and a large amount of mucus in stools. People neglect the symptoms easily as they attribute it to their stress or poor eating habits, the condition would go worse and spread to other organs (Millard, 2018). Additionally, if patients get abdominal pain such as cramps and bloating and suffer weight loss and fatigue with unexplained reason, it is proved that they are in late stage of colon cancer and should see the doctor immediately (The Specialist, n.d.).

In 2015, colorectal cancer was the first common cancer and the death rate was ranked second in Hong Kong. A statistics report showed that 16.6% of new cancer cases in colorectal cancer and accounted for 14.5% of all cancer deaths (HKCaR, 2016). It showed the seriousness of this disease is underrated.    

Once the patients are diagnosed with colorectal cancer, there are several things to manage this disorder. First, they should consult the doctor and patients will be assigned with a suitable treatment. The treatment comprises surgery and adjuvant therapy. For stage three and four patients, they must use adjuvant therapy including chemotherapy or radiation therapy to destroy and even kill the cancer cells to reduce the recurrence rate. Depending on the situation, some patients may need adjuvant therapy before surgery to facilitate the surgical removal (Smart Patient, n.d.).  

To prevent colorectal cancer, the most effective way is having a nutritious diet. Eating more vegetables and fruits can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by 10% (Doheny, 2011). Since vegetables and fruits are in high fiber, which results in soft and regular bowel movements for reducing constipation and toxins accumulated. Besides, limit the consumption of red meat and processed meat. A research showed that the meat have certain chemicals before they cooked which can cause carcinogens (“Red meat”, n.d.). People who eat 50 to 100 grams of red and processed meat each day will increase 17%-18% of suffering colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society suggested us choosing fish or poultry instead of red meat and processed meat which can lower the risk of getting cancer (American Cancer Society, 2015).