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Published on: 7/18/2003
Last Visited: 7/18/2003
"Stomach cancer is a less frequent cancer, but there is a higher propensity in APAs than in whites," says Laurence Yee, a colon and rectal surgeon and vice chair of the Department of Surgery at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco."This is a much less common and more sporadic cancer and nobody really gets screened for stomach cancer.Upper endoscopies are performed when screening for stomach cancer."
Yee says it is not known what causes stomach cancer, but a diet high in smoked meats that contain nitrates and nitrites, pickled and preserved foods, salted fish and meat and food low in fiber may put APAs at a higher risk.
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"For men in the United States, colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of death after lung and prostate," Yee says."There isn't much public awareness among Asian men about the frequency of this cancer.I see a lot of APA men ignore symptoms, thinking that it will go away.I think they are a little more reluctant to seek medical care and it's a combination of many reasons."
Part of this reason, says Yee, is the fear of getting tested.But the American Cancer Society recommends that all people over the age of 50 should be screened for colon polyps and cancer.
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"Polyps are very common, but if you leave them alone and ignore them, then they can turn into cancer," says Yee."That's why people should get screened, because a colonoscopy can find these polyps and the doctors can just clip them off."
A colonoscopy usually takes about 30 minutes and should not be painful, says Yee.
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"A lot of my patients say the worst part of having a colonoscopy is not being able to have dinner the night before," Yee says.
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Yee says any type of rectal bleeding should be evaluated and treated.
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