Colorectal Cancer Symptoms - Signs of This Disease and 3 Herbs That Can Prevent It!

Today I'm going to talk about the top colorectal cancer symptoms and a few herbs that can really reduce your chance of getting it. If you're not sure what colorectal cancer really is, have you ever heard of colon cancer? They really are the same thing. According to the Colon Cancer Alliance it is the second leading cause of death when it comes to cancer.

In your body you have something called the colon or large intestines. It's main job is to add the finishing touches to digestion. This includes absorbing any water, storing anything of value and eliminating the waste. In the colon there are cells that are constantly dying and being reborn. With a cancerous cell instead of it dying and being reborn like a normal cell, it starts to grow out of control.

The bad news is that oftentimes there really are no symptoms of this disease. Anytime there is a problem in the body one of the most common signs is going to be discomfort. So there might be pains in the stomach or pelvic region. Another sign of this disease could be changes to a person's stools. This could include constipation, diarrhea, bleeding in stools or they can look long and thin sort of like a brown pen. Another sign would be fatigue, losing weight and not being very hungry.

Have you ever heard the expression "kill the monster while it's small?" It definitely applies to cancer because the sooner you discover it; the easier it is to treat. This is why it's a good idea to get screenings so you can catch the disease early before big problems develop. A lot of health experts recommend getting a screening after the age of 50 every 3 to 10 years depending on the results.

Speaking of killing the monster while it's small, how about not getting the monster in the first place? It's not a bad idea right? The best way to prevent this problem is to try to be healthy. This includes things most people already know such as not being overweight, not using tobacco, not abusing alcohol and not eating a very unhealthy diet.

Another idea, which is often overlooked when it comes to cancer is a multivitamin. There are some vitamins such as vitamin D, folate and calcium that really lower the risk of this health problem. Sure you can get vitamins through food, but the truth is that our food isn't the same as it was hundreds of years ago thanks to chemicals.

There are also a few herbs that can really help such as garlic and onions. In one study by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition they looked at men and women from 10 different countries. They found that higher intakes of both onion and garlic were connected to a reduced risk of intestinal cancer.

Another herb to consider is something called ginseng. There was a study in the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal. Researchers took mice and split them into 2 groups. Both groups ate a very high fat diet, but one group received 250 ppm of ginseng. The result was that ginseng significantly reduced inflammation of the colon as well as the growth of cancer tumors.

To sum everything up the top colorectal cancer symptoms are.

• Pain in the stomach or pelvis area
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Bleeding in stools
• Stools that are thin and long
• Fatigue, weight loss and a loss of appetite

3 Herbal remedies that can help prevent colorectal cancer are.

• Garlic
• Onions
• Ginseng 

By Kevin Whitsitt

Colon Cancer Symptoms - How to Know If You Have Colorectal Cancer

Colon cancer is a serious disease characterized by abnormal cell growth in the colon, which creates a cancerous tumor. This kind of illness ranks third in the list of the most common forms of cancer and are most often prevalent in people over 50 years old, but can occur in patients of any age.
Cancers of the colon, or of the rectum, are highly treatable if they are diagnosed in the early stages of the disease. However, many people often are not diagnosed in time as early symptoms are not always recognized and, when they are, people are somewhat hesitant to discuss the details of their symptoms with a doctor.


The symptoms include:

1. Abdominal pain, bloating, or discomfort
2. Bloody stool
3. Long, thin stool (often described as pencil-like)
4. Unintended weight loss
5. Loss of appetite
6. Changes in normal bowel habits (rectal bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, or feeling an inability to completely empty the bowel).

Each year nearly 150,000 new cases of this disease are reported. There is no identifiable cause for it, but the following are some of the factors that may increase the risk of its development:

• Gender (Both men and women are equally prone to developing the malady. However, men tend to develop the rectal version at slightly higher rates, while women are more prone to the colon variety)
• Age (The sickness can be developed at any age, but the chances are increased in people over the age of 50 years old.)

Diabetes

Obesity

Cigarette smoking

Alcohol consumption

Poor diet

Family history

Personal history.

People with a family history of colorectal cancer are slightly more prone to developing it. If more than one family member has been diagnosed with the problem, the risk is even higher. Also, diets high in calories and fat, and low in fiber add to an increased risk of developing the disorder. Anyone over the age of 50 should undergo regular screening for the disorder, but anyone in any of the above risk groups should begin earlier.

Screening normally consists of an annual rectal exam, including stool samples. Some exams may require a scope to be inserted into the rectum in order to view the entire bowel. If there is cause for concern or further examination of the colon's tissue, a biopsy may be ordered for a closer analysis. If cancer is discovered, other tests, such as an ultrasound, CT scan or X-ray would be done in order to determine whether it has spread to other areas. Of particular concern is the liver as it is one of the more likely places that this dangerous disease spreads to.

Because the risk can be reduced by a high fiber diet, proper weight management (including exercise) and by not smoking, it is highly recommended that people opt for healthier lifestyles and decrease their chances of developing this type of life threatening ailment, and others, as much as possible.

Anyone who has experienced some of the previously mentioned symtoms, or who are in one of the risks groups for the disease, is advised to seek screening tests as early as possible since colorectal cancer responds very well to treatment in the earliest stages.By Ken Black

Cancer breakthrough: Grape seed extract kills colorectal cancer cells

(NaturalNews) Cancer researchers are working to find chemotherapies that destroy cancer cells but are harmless to normal cells. It turns out, a natural substance already exists that does just that. University of Colorado Cancer Center scientists have just published a study in the journal Cancer Letters that shows grape seed extract (GSE) is a powerful weapon against colorectal cancer. It halts the growth and survival of colorectal cancer cells and kills them in large numbers, too, while leaving healthy cells completely alone.

And the news about GSE gets better: the more advanced the colorectal cancer cells, the more GSE shuts down the malignant cells' growth and survival. The scientists think that GSE targets colorectal cancer by causing oxidative stress that leads to the programmed cell death known as apoptosis.

"We've known for quite a while that the bioactive compounds in grape seed extract selectively target many types of cancer cells. This study shows that many of the same mutations that allow colorectal cancer cells to metastasize and survive traditional therapies make them especially sensitive to treatment with GSE," Molly Derry, doctoral candidate in the lab of Rajesh Agarwal, PhD, investigator at the CU Cancer Center and professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said in a press statement.

Derry pointed out that the GSE findings are especially important due to the increasing rates of colorectal cancer. Unfortunately, 60 percent of patients diagnosed with this form of cancer have already reached the advanced stage of the disease.

As the research team performed their experiments on colorectal cancer cell lines representing all stages of the disease, they came up with another startling finding. Although it usually takes much more chemotherapy to kill a stage IV cancer cell than a stage II cancer cell, the exact opposite was true when it came to grape seed extract.

"It required less than half the concentration of GSE to suppress cell growth and kill 50 percent of stage IV cells than it did to achieve similar results in the stage II cells," Derry revealed in a media statement.

"A colorectal cancer cell can have upwards of 11,000 genetic mutations -- differences from the DNA in healthy cells. Traditional chemotherapies may only target a specific mutation and as cancer progresses more mutations occur. These changes can result in cancer that is resistance to chemotherapy. In contrast, the many bioactive compounds of GSE are able to target multiple mutations. The more mutations a cancer presents, the more effective GSE is in targeting them," Derry added.

The Agarwal Lab studies the effectiveness and action of dietary compounds against cancer and is encouraging further exploration of their findings in clinical settings with patients. "Finding a way to selectively target advanced colorectal cancer cells could have major clinical importance," Derry stated.

As NaturalNews previously reported, researchers from the University of Kentucky have also conducted groundbreaking research into the anti-cancer properties of grape seed extract. They found the natural substance triggered the death of 76 percent of leukemia cells exposed to the extract in a laboratory experiment. Their study, published Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, showed that grape seed extract triggered the destruction of leukemia cells by apparently "turning on" a protein known as JNK that regulates the cancer cell killing pathway.

Sources:

http://www.cancerletters.info/article/S0304-3835(12)00732-X/abstract
http://www.coloradocancerblogs.org
http://www.naturalnews.com 
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438351200732X