World Digestive Health Day 2022 – Prevent Colorectal Cancer

Every year on May 29, World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) is celebrated to create awareness among people regarding digestive diseases or disorders they might face.

This day was initiated by the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) in collaboration with the WGO Foundation (WGOF). Each year the day focuses on a particular digestive disease and/or disorder. This year’s theme is “Colorectal Cancer Prevention: Getting Back on Track”.

Guide to Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. There are also several modifiable risk factors such as dietary, lifestyle, and environmental for CRC. When detected in the early stages, CRC tends to be localized and often curable with surgical resection with an excellent prognosis.

Colorectal Cancer - Types, Causes, Risk Factors, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis & Prevention
Colorectal cancer is a cancer that starts in the colon or the rectum. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men.

‘Colorectal cancer being the second leading cause of death, the world digestive health day 2022 will focus on the Colorectal Cancer prevention campaign.’

Tweet it Now

Therefore, CRC screening efforts are directed toward the detection of early-stage colorectal cancer and the removal of pre-neoplastic lesions. Several screening modalities are effective and cost-effective, such as fecal immunochemical test, flexible sigmoidoscopy, CT colonography, and colonoscopy.

In the last decade, studies have highlighted a worrisome increase in CRC incidence among younger individuals. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted CRC screening programs and created a backlog of endoscopy procedures across the world.

Now more than ever is the need to understand the recent epidemiologic trends and risk factors for CRC as well as to resume and optimize our CRC screening efforts.

Colorectal Cancer Screening
Colorectal screening is done using tests to detect blood in stool, colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy ordouble contrast barium enema or CT colonography.

It is for these reasons that the World Gastroenterology Organisation selected Colorectal Cancer Prevention as the focus of the 2022 World Digestive Health Day campaign.

The world needs to understand and mitigate the modifiable dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors that contribute to colorectal cancer. We must develop, enhance, and get CRC screening programs back on track to reduce the global burden of CRC.

Steep Rise in Colorectal Cancer in Younger Patients
Colorectal cancer is on the rise in persons under 50 years, often found with advanced disease at diagnosis. The reasons for this are unclear and more research is needed to get answers so that timely interventions can be taken to prevent colorectal cancer.

By increasing worldwide awareness of the risk factors of CRC, benefits of screening, and practical tools to implement CRC screening programs, we can affect overall human health across the globe, in particular among low- and middle-resource countries.

Awareness Campaign for Colorectal Cancer

The WGO global network of WGO member societies, partners, and sponsors is ideal for raising the level of awareness, through its annual public advocacy and awareness campaign, World Digestive Health Day.

WDHD will provide gastroenterologists, primary care providers, their patients, and the lay public with an understanding of the latest basic and clinical research on the risk factors and epidemiology of CRC.

Low-dose Aspirin Linked to Lower Colorectal Cancer Death Risk
Regular use of baby aspirin (contains 81 milligrams of aspirin) prior to colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis reduces the risk of death from the disease.

This campaign will endeavor to inform physicians, pharmacists, allied health professionals, healthcare payers, and the public of the importance of reducing risk factors and the role of CRC screening.

Through a multi-faceted campaign, WGO will provide simple messages for the general public to assist them in understanding risk factors and screening efforts for CRC. Then, multiple informational pieces are planned and will be distributed worldwide to patients and healthcare professionals.

Through the WDHD 2022 campaign, WGO looks forward to providing a better understanding and recognition of CRC prevention.

Your participation, in educating the public about the burden of CRC, encouraging participation in screening programs, and promoting a healthy lifestyle, is crucial for the success of this campaign.

Source-Medindia