Cancer Concern

[jasonD2]

Ive been concerned for a while that I am going to get some kind of gastrointestinal cancer. I have a history of colon cancer in my family (maternal grandmother, maternal great grandmother and paternal grandmother all had it).

On top of this I have the gluten issues and multiple food sensitivities, had food poisoning in 1998 and giardia in 2002 and have been on multiple courses of antibiotics. I feel like my GI system has sustained such extensive trauma that its inevitable that I will develop cancer at some point in my life. Am I being paranoid as usual or are my fears warranted?

[mushroom]

Ive been concerned for a while that I am going to get some kind of gastrointestinal cancer. I have a history of colon cancer in my family (maternal grandmother, maternal great grandmother and paternal grandmother all had it).

On top of this I have the gluten issues and multiple food sensitivities, had food poisoning in 1998 and giardia in 2002 and have been on multiple courses of antibiotics. I feel like my GI system has sustained such extensive trauma that its inevitable that I will develop cancer at some point in my life. Am I being paranoid as usual or are my fears warranted?

I don't know if anyone can quantify your cancer risk, Jason. I certainly can't mine, but I live optimistically that it will pass me by. My maternal grandmother, my mother, my mother's sister, and both my sisters have had breast cancer. One sister tested positive for the BRCA1 gene, one tested negative, so I did not even bother to get tested since it doesn't seem to make any difference in our family. I had a bilateral oophorectomy (look it up) and just get my boobs squeezed every year and say, I am the one it is going to miss

I think the fact that you have identified your precipitating factor and eliminated it would allow you to say the same thing, that you have substantially reduced your risk. If you live a positive life (attitude is half the battle) I see no reason why you should get it too.

[ravenwoodglass]

Research has shown that after we have been on the diet for 5 years our chances of developing intestinal cancer is the same as the rest of the population. I would do my best not to let it worry me if I were you.

[tarnalberry]

Depends, are your worries having a significant effect on your life? If they are, that's something to see a therapist about. If they're not (beyond reasonable measures, like avoiding gluten, and minimizing exposure to known carcinogens, and otherwise aiming to be healthy), then it's probably not a big deal.

No one can accurately tell you if you'll get intestinal cancer, or give you a really good idea of your risk either. Figuring out how we choose to manage our risks, in the face of uncertainty, is a part of every aspect of our lives, and this is just another one of them.