“For all stages of colorectal cancer, except stage IV, surgery to remove the tumor is the initial treatment.”

WEB MD

“Most colon cancers develop first as polyps, which are abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum that may later become cancerous if not removed.”

Colon Cancer Alliance

Colorectal cancer is cancer that develops in the tissues of the colon and/or rectum. The colon and the rectum are both found in the lower part of the gastrointestinal (digestive) system. They form a long, muscular tube called the large intestine (or large bowel). The colon absorbs food and water and stores waste. The rectum is responsible for passing waste from the body.

If the cancer began in the colon, which is the first four to five feet of the large intestine, it may be referred to as colon cancer. If the cancer began in the rectum, which is the last several inches of the large intestine leading to the anus, it is called rectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer starts in the inner lining of the colon and/or rectum, slowly growing through some or all of its layers. It typically starts as a growth of tissue called a polyp. A particular type of polyp, called an adenoma, can then develop into cancer.

Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of colorectal cancer. Other colorectal cancers include gastrointestinal carcinoid tumors, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, primary colorectal lymphoma, leiomyosarcoma, melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. When cancer starts in the colon or rectum, it is called colorectal cancer. Sometimes it is called colon cancer, for short.

Colorectal cancer affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people aged 50 years or older. In the United States, it is the third most common cancer for men and women.

Of cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be.

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives.

Screening can find precancerous polyps—abnormal growths in the colon or rectum—so that they can be removed before turning into cancer. Screening also helps find colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure. About nine out of every 10 people whose colorectal cancers are found early and treated appropriately are still alive five years later.

If you are aged 50 or older, get screened now. If you think you may be at higher than average risk for colorectal cancer, speak with your doctor about getting screened early.

While screening rates have increased in the U.S., not enough people are getting screened for colorectal cancer. In 2012, 65% of U.S. adults were up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening; 7% had been screened, but were not up-to-date; and 28% had never been screened.

Your risk of getting colorectal cancer increases as you get older. More than 90% of cases occur in people who are 50 years old or older.

Other risk factors include having:

*Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.

*A personal or family history of colorectal cancer or colorectal polyps.

*A genetic syndrome such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome).

Lifestyle factors that may contribute to an increased risk of colorectal cancer include—

• Lack of regular physical activity.
• Low fruit and vegetable intake.
• A low-fiber and high-fat diet.
• Overweight and obesity.
• Alcohol consumption.
• Tobacco use. *Rectal bleeding or blood in your stool.
• *Diagnosing colorectal cancer:Treatment & Care
• Tests. Finding colon cancer early is key to beating it. That’s why doctors recommend a yearly fecal occult blood test, which tests for invisible blood in the stool, an early sign of colon cancer. One of the best tools for detecting colorectal cancer is a colonoscopy.
• *Persistent abdominal discomfort, such as cramps, gas or pain.
• *A change in your bowel habits, including diarrhea or constipation or a change in the consistency of your stool, that lasts longer than four weeks.
• *Signs and symptoms of colon-rectal cancer include:
• Many colon cancer treatment options are available for colorectal cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Here’s what to expect from each type of treatment and tips for recovery.

*Treatment= Get details on treatment on Part II tomorrow’s article Thurs.

Colon Polyp Removal and Other Precancerous Conditions

Learn how colon polyps are removed and why it’s so important to stay on top of these and other precancerous conditions.

Colorectal Cancer Treatment

Here’s a quick rundown of the options available for colorectal cancer treatment from surgery to cutting-edge biologic therapy.

Colon Cancer: Treatment by Stage

Here you’ll find detailed information on how the various stages of colon cancer are treated — from stage 0 to stage IV and also recurrent colon cancer.

Rectal Cancer Treatment by Stage

Here you’ll find detailed information on how the various stages of rectal cancer are treated — from stage 0 to stage IV and also recurrent rectal cancer.

Colon Cancer Chemotherapy

Learn about the different ways chemotherapy is used to treat colon cancer and rectal cancer and the side effects of commonly used chemotherapy drugs.

“Hemophilia is one of the more common inherited types of bleeding disorders. Currently, about 20,000 individuals in the United States have hemophilia. Although hemophilia most commonly occurs in men, it can also occur in women.”

National Hemophilia Foundation

Striveforgoodhealth.com would like to wish all this weekend:

“It’s not easy to diagnose because depending where the endometrial deposits are, the symptoms can be quite different. It’s an unrecognized problem among teenage girls, and it’s something that every young woman who has painful menstruation should be aware of … it’s a condition that is curable if it’s caught early.

[Author Hilary Mantel on being asked about being a writer with endometriosis, Nov 2012 NPR interview]”

“Since 1962, the President of the United States has proclaimed the third week of March as National Poison Prevention Week to raise awareness about the dangers of poisonings and how to prevent them.”

AAPCC – American Association of Poison Control Centers

In 2013, America’s 55 poison centers received over 3.1 million calls. Of those, about 2.2 million were calls about poison exposures ranging from carbon monoxide to snake bites to food poisoning. The rest were calls for information.

Chemicals in and around the home can poison people or pets and can cause long-term health effects. Every 13 seconds, a poison control center in the United States answers a call about a possible poisoning. More than 90% of these exposures occur in the home. Poisoning can result from medicines, pesticides, household cleaning products, carbon monoxide, and lead.

The major source of lead poisoning among U.S. children is lead-based paint and dust with lead. All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead in the paint. However, it is the flaking, peeling paint that causes a problem. Other sources of lead in the home may include traditional home remedies, ceramics, toys and toy jewelry, lead-contaminated soil, lead water pipes, and lead solder used in plumbing. Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over a period of months or years. Even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems. Children under the age of 6 are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal. While treatment is available for lead poisoning, taking some simple precautions can help protect yourself and your family.

Lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in older buildings are the most common sources of lead poisoning in children. Other sources include contaminated air, water and soil. Adults who work with batteries, do home renovations or work in auto repair shops also may be exposed to lead. It couldn’t hurt to ask you MD if you should get a lead level taken yearly or less for people who live around lead or the area having a history of it or adults in the work force working need lead products.

Lead poisoning symptoms in children

The signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children may include:

Developmental delay-Learning difficulties-Irritability-Loss of appetite-Weight loss-Sluggishness and fatigue-Abdominal pain-Vomiting-Constipation-Hearing loss

Lead poisoning symptoms in newborns

-Babies who are exposed to lead before birth may experience:

-Learning difficulties & Slowed growth

Lead poisoning symptoms in adults

-Although children are primarily at risk, lead poisoning is also dangerous for adults. Signs and symptoms in adults may include:

High blood pressure-Abdominal pain-Constipation-Joint pains-Muscle pain-Declines in mental functioning-Pain, numbness or tingling of the extremities -Headache-Memory loss-Mood disorders-Reduced sperm count, abnormal sperm-Miscarriage or premature birth in pregnant women.

ENDING LINE is knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like poisoning, helps keep our children safe and secure and helps them live to their full potential.

We all want to keep our children safe and secure and help them live to their full potential. Knowing how to prevent leading causes of child injury, like poisoning, is a step toward this goal.

Every day, over 300 children in the United States ages 0 to 19 are treated in an emergency department, and two children die, as a result of being poisoned. It’s not just chemicals in your home marked with clear warning labels that can be dangerous to children.

Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well. Active, curious children will often investigate—and sometimes try to eat or drink—anything that they can get into.

Thankfully, there are ways you can help poison-proof your home and protect the children you love.

Prevention Tips:

Lock them up. Keep medicines and toxic products, such cleaning solutions, in their original packaging where children can’t see or get them.

Know the number. Put the nationwide poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every telephone in your home and program it into your cell phone. Call the poison control center if you think a child has been poisoned but they are awake and alert; they can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 911 if you have a poison emergency and your child has collapsed or is not breathing.

Read the label. Follow label directions and read all warnings when giving medicines to children.

Don’t keep it if you don’t need it. Safely dispose of unused, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs and over the counter drugs, vitamins, and supplements. To dispose of medicines, mix them with coffee grounds or kitty litter and throw them away. You can also turn them in at a local take-back program or during National Drug Take-Back events.

In general, Health and Safety Tips:

Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chewable surfaces painted with lead-based paint.

Use and store chemicals, household cleaning products, and pesticides according to label instructions and out of reach of children

Have gas appliances professionally installed, vented outside, and checked annually for carbon monoxide leaks.

Take all medicines as directed and store out of reach of children.

Turn on fans and open windows to help ventilate the area when using household cleaners and chemicals.

______________________________________________________

Deaths from drug overdose have been rising steadily over the past two decades and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.

The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose killed more than 28,000 people in 2014, more than any year on record. At least half of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. More people died from drug overdoses in 2014 than in any year on record. The majority of drug overdose deaths (more than six out of ten) involved an opioid. Opioids include opiates, an older term that refers to such drugs derived from opium, including morphine itself. Other opioids are semi-synthetic and synthetic drugs such as hydrocodone, oxycodone and fentanyl; antagonist drugs such as naloxone and endogenous peptides such as the endorphins. Opioid drugs are predominantly central nervous system agents, most often used medically to relieve pain.   So again its restated to take meds as prescribed and keep out of reach for children especially (babies/children out of reach to locked up-Better safe than sorry).

“About 1 in every 5,000 or more babies is born with trisomy 18, and most are female.  Many don’t past their 2nd or 3rd trimester with this genetic disorder.”

Web M.D.

Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is a condition which is caused by a error in cell division, known as meiotic disjunction.  When this happens,  instead of the normal pair, an extra chromosome 18 results (a triple) in the developing baby and disrupts the normal pattern of development in significant ways that can be life-threatening, even before birth.  A Trisomy 18 error occurs in about 1 out of every 2500 pregnancies in the United States and 1 in 6000 live births.  The numbers of total births is much higher because it includes significant numbers of stillbirths that occur in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy.

Unlike Down syndrome, which also is caused by an extra chromosome, the developmental issues caused by Trisomy 18 are associated with more medical complications that are more potentially life-threatening in the early months and years of life.  Studies have shown that only 50% of babies who are carried to term will be born alive, and baby girls will have higher rates of live birth than baby boys.

What are Related Conditions?

The most common trisomy is Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, where a baby has three of the twenty-first chromosome. Trisomy 18 is the second most common trisomy and occurs when a baby has three of the eighteenth chromosome. This results in 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46 in the affected cells. It is this extra genetic material that causes the problems associated with Trisomy 18. The third most common is Trisomy 13, also known as Patau syndrome.

While there are different types of Trisomy 18, this does not mean one is better for a child than another.  With each type, there is a range of possibilities. Some children are medically fragile while others thrive; some children walk while others are confined to wheelchairs. It is hard to say how the extra chromosome will impact an individual child from the genetic diagnosis alone.

Types of Trisomy 18:

• Full Trisomy 18: The most common type of Trisomy 18 (occurring in about 95% of all cases) is full Trisomy. With full Trisomy, the extra chromosome occurs in every cell in the baby’s body. This type of trisomy is not hereditary. It is not due to anything the parents did or did not do—either before or during pregnancy. It is just an unfortunate error in nature.
• Partial Trisomy 18: Partial trisomies are very rare.  They occur when only part of an extra chromosome is present. Some partial Trisomy 18 syndromes may be caused by hereditary factors. Very rarely, a piece of chromosome 18 becomes attached to another chromosome before or after conception. Affected people have two copies of chromosome 18, plus a “partial” piece of extra material from chromosome 18.
• Mosaic Trisomy 18: Mosaic trisomy is also very rare. It occurs when the extra chromosome is present in some (but not all) of the cells of the body.  Like full Trisomy 18, mosaic Trisomy is not inherited and is a random occurrence that takes place during cell division.The extra genetic material from the extra eighteenth chromosome can cause a wide variety of problems (sometimes referred to as birth defects) in the developing child in the mother’s womb and after birth. Just as children with Down syndrome can range from mildly to severely affected, the same is true for children with Trisomy 18. This means that there is no hard and fast rule about what Trisomy 18 will mean for a specific child. Each child has their own unique profile of how Trisomy 18 is affecting their developing body and organs. However, all studies on survival rates show that there is a high mortality rate for children with Trisomy 18 before or shortly after birth.
• Common Problems associated with Trisomy 18 can include:
• Impact of Trisomy 18 on Baby?

• Heart defects:
  • VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect): a hole between the lower chambers
  • ASD (Atrial Septal Defect): a hole between the upper chambers
  • Coarctation of the aorta: a narrowing of the exit vessel from the heart
• Kidney problems
• Part of the intestinal tract is outside the stomach (omphalocele)
• The esophagus doesn’t connect to the stomach (esophageal artesia)
• Excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios)
• Clenched hands
• Pocket of fluid on the brain (choroid plexus cysts)
• Rocker bottom feet
• Delayed growth
• Small jaw (mycrognathia)
• Small head (microcephaly)
• Low-set ears
• Strawberry-shaped head
• Severe developmental delays
• Umbilical or inguinal hernia

How is Trisomy 18 Diagnosed?

Most cases of Trisomy 18 are diagnosed prenatally in the United States.  Regardless of whether the diagnosis is made prenatally or postnatally (after birth) the process is the same.  A sample of the baby’s dna is extracted from a blood sample or other bodily cells or tissue and is cultured to examine a picture of the chromosomes called a karyotype.    A karyotype is simply a picture of a person’s chromosomes.  In order to get this picture, the chromosomes are isolated, stained, and examined under the microscope. Most often, this is done using the chromosomes in the white blood cells. A picture of the chromosomes is taken through the microscope.  A visible extra 18th chromosome confirms a Trisomy 18 diagnosis.

Treatment varies

Treatment will depend on what conditions the child ends up with into adulthood and how it impacts the individual in adulthood.