Thursday, January 15, 2009
My Colonoscopy Consult & High Fiber Foods List
Hey!
Thought you might be interested in hearing what my gastro said to me today during my first colonoscopy consult. I haven't had a colonoscopy yet because I'm still nursing (I'm 41 now!). Going to wait another year, I don't want to stop nursing just to get the test done...Jack's my last baby and I'm gonna nurse him until he's 25 yrs old. His wife won't mind a bit...
You know all this stuff already, but it's a good reminder to all of us!
The doc said my chances of getting colon cancer are high based on Mom, Aunt Karen, Poppy and Mom's grandfather. He said that a normal person's risk, with no family history is 6%. If you have a distant relative with cancer like an aunt/uncle, your risk is 9%. If you have a close relative like a sister or parent that was diagnosed before age 65 (Mom and Aunt Karen), your risk is 12%.
He said that because of my strong family history, for me it's definitely a 12%+ risk ratio. That's chances of developing colon cancer over my lifetime. He said that if anyone in our family developed colon cancer before age 60, then that is considered the "hereditary" type of colon cancer. Not the diet related colon cancer. Was Aunt Karen <60 when she was diagnosed? Mom was 64 when she was diagnosed, as you know. I don't know Poppy or our great grandfather's ages when they were diagnosed...
He also said that since Mom had a colonoscopy 2 yrs prior to her diagnosis, that her type of colon cancer was likely the "flat" polyps in her colon that are obviously difficult to spot with a camera during a colonoscopy. (Linda sent that great article on that in the Times last year...). He said that those flat polyps take about 10-15 years to develop into cancer, so likely they just kept being missed in Mom's colonoscopies. He said the other possibility is that she just had a very aggressive, and rare form of colon cancer that spread very quickly into her liver. Who knows...
Either way, he said that my family history is enough concern for me to make significant dietary changes in my life, and in my children's lives. No 1 priority, he said, is to stay away from high fat foods (the bad fats, not the good fats) and to eat lots of fiber rich foods, everyday. He said they I need to be taking 30g of fiber per day. (I thought it should be 35g...). He said that fiber supplements are a good idea, that psyllium husk is a simple, inexpensive fiber supplement. Which I take...but the kids don't take, maybe they should be taking it, too. (Brian's family also has colon cancer, so my kids are at higher risk than me.)
He said that btn ages 40 - 50 colonoscopies should be every 3 yrs, then after age 50 every 2 years.
So to me, I have an 88% chance of not developing colon cancer in my lifetime. That's fairly high. I feel confident that I'm doing practically everything I can to prevent it, or delay it. I am very focused on good health, and this consultation is just a reminder that I have to keep doing what I'm already doing, and keep the kids focused on being healthy and making good nutrition decisions, yadda yadda.
He gave me a great brochure on fiber rich foods. He said to be sure I am eating lots of fruits/veggies/salad every day and to "stay away from McDonalds!" (YUK anyway, but I gotta have that Big Mac and fries at least once a year!)
Here are some foods that are loaded with fiber. Easy to remember, of everything on the list, beans have the most fiber. Especially kidney beans! Buy beans!!! Here are the power punches from the list, make a mental note of these items:
Be healthy! Luv ya's!
XOXO
Chicken Noodle
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