Upcoming EventsColorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the U.S. The best way to prevent colorectal cancer is through screening, according to YaronLangman, MD, with Digestive Disease Associates of Rockland in Pomona and attending physician at Montefiore Nyack Hospital.
“Screening for colorectal cancer can save lives—but only if people get tested,” Dr. Langman said. “We can dramatically decrease the number of cases each year if more people get screened.” When adults get screened for colorectal cancer, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful. The detection and removal of precancerous polyps can prevent a person from developing colorectal cancer.
Most people should be screened every 10 years starting at age 50, unless they are in a high-risk group. People at higher risk include those who have a close relative who has had colorectal polyps or have had colorectal cancer, or who have had polyps.
Talk to your doctor about your options for colorectal cancer screening. Colonoscopy is the “gold standard” preferred screening method, but there are other choices. One method is having your stool checked for evidence of blood and the other is to have it checked for pieces of cancer DNA. These tests are done on a sample of stool you send to a lab.
Surgical Treatment
If a person is diagnosed with colorectal cancer, the first treatment is usually surgery, according to Lee Fleischer, MD, Director of the Department of Surgery at Montefiore Nyack Hospital. The procedure is done with minimally invasive surgery, known as laparoscopy.
Doctors at the hospital use an approach to colorectal surgery to decrease patients’ pain after surgery, length of stay in the hospital, reduce complications, and shorten their recovery. Called Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS), the strategy includes a series of steps before, during, and after colorectal surgery. Typically, patients placed in the ERAS protocol go home in two to three days, compared with seven days in the past. “The ERAS protocol not only shortens hospital stays, but it reduces the need for opioid painkillers,” Dr. Fleischer said. “It achieves these goals without decreasing the effectiveness of the surgery or cure rates.”
When Chemotherapy is Needed
For patients whose colon cancer was detected early, the doctor may recommend observation approach after surgery. In these cases, the person will continue to be monitored to make sure the cancer does not return, and chemotherapy is not needed, said Aleksandra Mamorska-Dyga, MD, a medical oncologist with Highland Medical, P.C., Hematology and Oncology in Nyack, NY.
In more advanced cases, chemotherapy may be recommended once a patient recovers from their colorectal cancer surgery. “Even in more advanced cases we often have good outcomes and patients usually tolerate therapies well,” she said. For the most advanced cases, there are other treatment options, such as biologic therapies or targeted therapies. Immunotherapy is also an option in selected patients.
Every patient with a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer should be tested for genetic predisposition called Lynch syndrome. The initial testing is performed on the surgical specimen at the time of initial diagnosis.
For patients who need treatment for colorectal cancer in Rockland County, Montefiore Nyack Hospital offers state-of-the-art care by a multidisciplinary team. Says Dr. Fleischer, “We can treat simple to advanced cases, right here in our own backyard.”
