Ask a Doctor: All things colon cancer
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer deaths for Americans under the age of 50, according to a paper published last month in JAMA.
This research backs up a trend that doctors have been seeing for a while now: Colon cancer isn’t just a disease that affects older people.
Just last week, James Van Der Beek, who played Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek” died of colorectal cancer. He was 48 years old.
In the past few years, more health organizations have followed the American Cancer Society in lowering the recommended age for colon cancer screenings from 50 to 45 years old.
And more recently, there’s been a trend online that encourages people to start “fibermaxxing”... which is just a fancy way of telling them to eat more fiber.
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We talk to a doctor about this trend and the symptoms to look out for when it comes to colon cancer.
Guests:
- Dr. Rachel Issaka, director of the colorectal cancer screening program for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and UW Medicine
Related links:
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Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Maleeha Syed
Producer, Soundside
Maleeha is a producer on Soundside, a show that helps listeners get to know the PNW and each other. Before KUOW, she worked at Cascade PBS, first as a communities reporter and then as a podcast producer on shows like Northwest Reports and Your Last Meal. Before moving to Seattle, she worked as a reporter at the Burlington Free Press in Vermont, but is originally from San Antonio.
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Jason Burrows
Producer/Announcer
Jason M Burrows is part of the Production Team on Soundside, and takes on announcing duties when needed.
More stories from Jason Burrows »
