Why is it more important than ever to talk to your patients about cancer screening? Learn more about how to counsel your patients.
Xennials, a micro-generation on the cusp of Generation X and Millennials, are subject to failing grades. But we’re not talking about academics, we’re talking about cancer. Rates of colorectal cancer continue to rise in patients under the age of 30. While the cause of this isn’t well known, it’s been speculated that a shift to a more sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, obesity, and other challenges have led to these increased rates.
As colorectal cancer awareness month ends, it’s important to talk to your patients about the importance of screening for this disease. While the COVID-19 pandemic has discouraged patients from getting their regular health screenings, with restrictions increasingly being lifted, it’s important to encourage patients to go back to getting regular screenings, especially our Xennial patients.
Creatures of habit
Despite declines in the prevalence of colorectal cancer in older adults due to effective screening, rates of colorectal cancer continue to rise in younger adults.
In 2016, a retrospective cohort study evaluating a community-based healthcare system studied 970,765 eligible patients between 51 and 74 years old were identified. This study reported the impact of their first implementation of a proactive colorectal cancer screening program and its association with race/ethnicity. Another study reported that screenings among Black and white patients related to incidence rate and mortality and identified an overall increase in screening at about 200% from 2015 to 2019 in both populations. Researchers attribute the reduced incidence and mortality to proactively mailed fecal immunochemical testing accompanied by office visits.
This data shows a clear increase in the rate of colorectal cancer, which is why screening is now more important than ever before.
Taking care of business
Other than regular screening and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, is there anything else that we can be doing? According to healthcare professionals, using questionnaires to facilitate conversations about bowel health and habits can provide quantifiable data to encourage patients to get regular screenings. While it may be embarrassing to talk about bowel movements, learning more about our patients’ chronic issues or changes to regular movements sooner rather than later is critical to treatment options, morbidity and mortality, and even fertility. And promoting screenings can help reduce the rates of colorectal cancer in these patients and improve overall outcomes.
References
American Cancer Society. 2022. “Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer.” January 12, 2022. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html.
Doubeni, Chyke A., Douglas A. Corley, Wei Zhao, YanKwan Lau, Christopher D. Jensen, and Theodore R. Levin. 2022. “Association between Improved Colorectal Screening and Racial Disparities.” Https://Doi.Org/10.1056/NEJMc2112409 386 (8): 796–98.
Mehta, Shivan J., Christopher D. Jensen, Virginia P. Quinn, Joanne E. Schottinger, Ann G. Zauber, Reinier Meester, Adeyinka O. Laiyemo, et al. 2016. “Race/Ethnicity and Adoption of a Population Health Management Approach to Colorectal Cancer Screening in a Community-Based Healthcare System.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 31 (11): 1323–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11606-016-3792-1/TABLES/2.
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