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Colorectal cancer is on the rise: What to know and how to help

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Atlanta
CNN

Here’s a sobering statistic: By 2030, cases of colorectal cancer in people under 50 are expected to nearly double, and it will become the leading cause of death for people age 20 to 49.

But there’s good news, too. Overall, colon cancer diagnoses have decreased. Experts attribute that to more cancer screenings.

So what can be done to lower rates of the disease in the younger population? And why is it happening in the first place?

Younger patients

Researchers think that “something happened in the 1950’s and 1960’s” that triggered the current cases of young onset colorectal cancers, according to Dr. Robin Mendelsohn, a gastroenterologist and Co-Director at the Center for Young Onset Colorectal and Gastroinstestinal Cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

“I think if it was one answer, we would have figured it out,” says Dr. Mendelsohn. “If it were something obvious, or one major thing, we would have found it.”

She thinks it is more likely some combination of behavioral and/or environmental changes.

Among the things researchers are looking at: the age of parents at time of the patient’s birth, whether they were born via Caesarean section, whether they were breast fed, antibiotic use – and even wifi exposure.

Younger patients tend to get diagnosed at later, more advanced stages of the disease because they’re not being screened and they may have to go through several doctors before they figure out what’s wrong.

April’s story

April Witzel, a nurse practitioner and midwife, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 45.

She didn’t have any obvious risk factors: “I’m female, I’m Caucasian, I didn’t eat a high-meat diet, I didn’t have colon cancer in my family,” she says.

Her first symptoms were intense stomach pain and nausea. Then there was blood in her stool – so much blood, she took a picture of the toilet contents and went to the ER.

And even though she’s a health professional who spends her days inside the hospital, Witzel didn’t receive the care she expected.

“I was having severe pain, and I’m crying, and I had blood in my stool. And he [the doctor] said ‘Are you sure you aren’t on your period?’”

A shocked Witzel responded: “I am a woman’s health practitioner. I see more vaginas in a day than you see in a year… I know whether I’m bleeding from vagina or my rectum.”

The ER doctor then took another look at her pictures and asked if her she’d “eaten beets recently.”

Advocating for yourself

“When I think about how much I had to advocate for myself… I had the medical knowledge. I didn’t have the cancer knowledge, but I knew how to navigate the system. So many people don’t. And they just expect that their caregiver is going to do to the right thing,” Witzel says.

By the time Witzel got her diagnosis, her disease had spread. “It’s so treatable if it’s caught early. I currently have stage four with metastases to my liver and lungs.”

Witzel’s story is an example of what can happen when younger people go in for an appointment and doctors don’t think to test for something usually associated with an older population.

Her story may be a worst-case scenario, but she hopes others will learn from her experience and push to receive the care they need.

Key differences between young and old patients

The majority of younger colorectal cancer patients don’t have family history of the disease, and most of them don’t have a genetic disposition toward it. And while obesity does seem to play a small part in some of these cancers, many of these younger patients are vegetarians; some even marathon runners – lifestyles usually associated with being more protective against developing colorectal cancer.

“Our hope in our research is to try to find a high-risk group to do early screening,” says Dr. Mendelsohn.

She urges everyone over 45 to get a colonscopy or other screening test.

Those mail-away tests are generally reliable and helpful, she says, but there is a reason why colonoscopies remain the gold-standard: “In general, stool-based tests are as good as colonoscopies for early detection of cancer. But they’re not as good at finding polyps. [With a colonoscopy] you can get them [the polyps] removed at the time,” says Mendelsohn.

Ultimately, says Dr. Mendelsohn: “Colorectal screening saves lives. If you’re younger than screening age, know your family history. We are working hard to figure this out, and there’s hope on the horizon that we will figure it out.”

African Americans at increased risk

Black men and women are particularly at risk for developing colorectal cancer.

Timothy Mitchell was 43 years old when he was diagnosed.

“The older generation didn’t talk about what was going on, which was a disservice to us,” Mitchell says. “It was almost a hush-hush thing.”

Knowing your family history is important and can save your life. In Mitchell’s case, his relatives didn’t always talk about why family members were in the hospital, what illnesses they had, and what their symptoms were.

Timothy Mitchell had a family history of cancer he wishes he'd known about.

“What goes on in the house, stays in the house. We don’t tell people our business,” Mitchell says. For him, that could have been fatal.

“Because we don’t know what to look for, because I had Lynch syndrome, and until I talked to my auntie, I didn’t know that so many people in my father’s family had so much cancer.”

That Lynch syndrome put Mitchell at an increased risk for colorectal cancer, something he didn’t realize. Now he plans to encourage his sons get their first colonoscopies in their early 30’s. (Doctors generally recommend children of colon cancer patients receive their first colonoscopies about 10 years before their parent’s age of diagnosis.)

Mitchell, an avid motorcycle rider, regularly approaches other bikers and strikes up conversations about colonoscopies. Not your usual biker talk, perhaps, but potentially life-saving.

“People hear they have cancer and they think they’re gonna die. You should not feel like it’s a death sentence,” he says.

“Cancer is detectable, treatable and beatable,” says Mitchell.

What you need to do

Knowing your family history and talking about it is important. A family history of Lynch syndrome or colon cancer is something you should be aware of, so you can be screened early.

Anyone experiencing a significant change in bowel habits, or anyone who sees blood in their stool, should consult a doctor.

“Most people don’t talk about their poop; it’s not good dinner conversation,” admits Dr. Mendelsohn. Most rectal bleeding does not turn out be cancer, stresses Dr. Mendelsohn, but you should always be checked.

Find a doctor you feel comfortable with, who’s taking your concerns seriously.

“You don’t want to talk about bodily functions,” admits Witzel, the nurse who wasn’t taken seriously. “It tends to be an embarrassing thing. But I will share my story every day if it saves one person.”

 

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What’s the greatest holiday gift: lips, hair, skin? Give the gift of great skin this holiday season

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Give the gift of great skin this holiday season

Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting

Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.

In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.

“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.

There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.

Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.

Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.

In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.

 

Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.

Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Pediatric group says doctors should regularly screen kids for reading difficulties

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The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.

New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.

The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.

Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.

Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.

“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”

McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.

But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.

The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.

He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.

“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.

“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.

McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”

McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.

He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.

“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

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