Kirstie Alley died of colon cancer. Here's how to lower your risk - CNN

CNN  — 

Colon crab has claimed different life. Emmy Award and Golden Globe victor Kirstie Alley, champion known for her roles successful the tv sitcoms “Cheers” and “Veronica’s Closet,” died Monday at property 71 aft battling crab that was “recently discovered,” according to a household statement.

A typical for Alley confirmed to CNN via email connected Tuesday that she had been diagnosed with colon crab anterior to her death.

Colorectal cancer, which includes colon and rectal cancers, is the 2nd astir communal origin of decease from crab successful 2022, outranked lone by lung and bronchus cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program.

Regular checkups are the champion mode to support colon crab astatine bay, according to the US Preventive Services Task Force. The task unit lowered the property to statesman screening for colon and rectal crab to 45 past twelvemonth aft a worrisome spike successful cases of colorectal crab successful radical younger than 50.

The caller recommendations use to everyone ages 45 to 75, including radical with nary symptoms, nary anterior diagnosis, nary household past of colon oregon rectal disease, and nary idiosyncratic past of polyps, which are each cardinal hazard factors. Polyps are bumps oregon tiny mushroom-like stalks that turn wrong the colon oregon rectum.

If these growths are not recovered and removed, they tin crook cancerous.

Adults ages 76 to 85 years tin besides beryllium screened, depending connected their wide health, anterior screening past and idiosyncratic preferences, the task unit said.

Colorectal crab screening tin hap successful respective ways, including elemental mail-in tests that look for humor oregon crab cells successful a illustration of stool collected by the patient. However, each stool tests tin person false-positive trial results, which would apt necessitate a much invasive trial to regularisation retired cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Stool tests: While a stool trial is the slightest invasive option, it does person to beryllium done astatine slightest erstwhile a year, the society said. No anti-inflammatory symptom relievers tin beryllium taken for 7 days anterior to a stool test, portion reddish meats specified arsenic beef, lamb oregon liver and immoderate citrus oregon vitamin C supplements should beryllium avoided for astatine slightest 3 days.

If the trial finds thing of concern, “you volition inactive request a colonoscopy to spot if you person cancer,” according to ACS. However, hidden bleeding successful the stool does not automatically awesome cancer, arsenic ulcers, hemorrhoids and different conditions tin besides origin rectal bleeding.

DNA stool test: A DNA stool trial is different option, the nine said. Because colorectal crab cells tin person DNA mutations, the trial tin surface for those familial abnormalities. This trial lone needs to beryllium done erstwhile each 3 years, but an full stool illustration indispensable beryllium collected and mailed.

Patients whitethorn person security sum issues due to the fact that the trial is reasonably new, ACS said. Again, if thing suspicious is found, a colonoscopy volition inactive beryllium required.

For each of the pursuing tests, the colon indispensable beryllium cleanable and escaped of stool matter, which requires at-home bowel prep. Ways to bare the bowels see pills, drinking a laxative solution oregon the usage of an enema the nighttime earlier the procedure.

This process has go overmuch easier implicit the years with the advent of caller kits that don’t necessitate arsenic overmuch liquid laxative, truthful speech to your doc astir your options, ACS suggested.

Colonoscopy: One of the astir wide utilized tests, this process allows a doc entree to the full magnitude of the colon and rectum with a colonoscope, a “flexible, lighted conduit astir the thickness of a digit with a tiny video camera connected the end,” ACS said.

Typically, the diligent is nether airy sedation during the full procedure, waking up with nary cognition of the process. Watching connected video successful existent clip arsenic the scope moves done the intestine, the doc tin halt and insert tiny instruments into the scope to instrumentality a illustration oregon adjacent region immoderate suspicious polyps.

Virtual colonscopy: This trial uses machine programs that instrumentality X-rays and a computed tomography (CT) scan to marque three-dimensional pictures of the wrong of the colon and rectum.

The trial does not necessitate sedation. However, it does necessitate the aforesaid bowel prep arsenic a regular colonoscopy. After the patient drinks a opposition dye, a small, flexible conduit volition beryllium inserted into the rectum, followed by pumped aerial grow the rectum and colon for amended pictures.

As with each CT scans, this process exposes the diligent to a tiny magnitude of radiation and tin origin cramping until the aerial exits the body, the nine said. If a suspicious wide is detected, a colonoscopy volition inactive beryllium needed to region the mass.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy: This trial inserts the aforesaid flexible camera conduit into the little portion of the colon. However, due to the fact that the conduit is lone 2 feet (60 centimeters) long, this trial lone allows the doc to analyse the full rectum and little than fractional of the colon — immoderate polpys successful the precocious colon volition beryllium missed. This trial is not often utilized successful the United States, the nine said.

Many radical debar a colonoscopy, partially owed to the preparation, truthful arsenic a mode of encouraging radical to get screened, erstwhile “Today” big Katie Couric broadcast her full process successful 2000 — from prep the nighttime earlier to a mildly sedated Couric watching the process arsenic it unfolded.

“I person a beauteous small colon,” Couric said with a sleepy chuckle arsenic she watched the video projection from the scope wrong her colon. “You didn’t enactment the scope successful yet, did you?” asked Couric, whose husband, Jay Monahan, had died from colon crab astatine property 42 successful 1998.

“Yes! We’re doing the examination. We’re astir done,” said her physician, the late Dr. Kenneth Forde, who taught for astir 40 years astatine Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons astatine Columbia University successful New York City.

More recently, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney videotaped parts of their colonoscopies to rise nationalist consciousness aft Reynolds mislaid a bet.

“Rob and I both, we turned 45 this year,” Reynolds said successful the video. “And you know, portion of being this property is getting a colonoscopy. It’s a elemental measurement that could virtually — and I mean, virtually — prevention your life.”

Doctors recovered some actors had polyps that were removed during the screening.

“It’s not each time that you tin rise consciousness astir thing that volition astir decidedly prevention lives. That’s capable information for maine to fto you successful connected a camera being shoved up my a–,” Reynolds said.

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