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According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the United States. However, early diagnosis can often lead to a complete cure. Almost all colon cancer starts in glands in the lining of the colon and rectum. When doctors talk about colorectal cancer, this is usually what they are talking about. There is no single cause of colon cancer. Nearly all colon cancers begin as noncancerous (benign) polyps, which slowly develop into cancer.

It's estimated that 1 out of every 15 Americans are affected by sleep apnea and most are unaware tha

March is Colon Cancer Awareness month and as such we will be presenting more articles and information about Colorectal cancer this month. Colorectal cancer is cancer that occurs in the colon or rectum. Sometimes it is called colon cancer, for short. As the drawing shows, the colon is the large intestine or large bowel. The rectum is the passageway that connects the colon to the anus.

For years your doctor, your mom and your friend who goes to the gym multiple times a week have probably been telling you to eat better and exercise more. It’s all you hear on television, in the newspapers and on talk radio. New doctors and dieticians usher in new diets, new fads, and so you’ve made some lifestyle changes – cutting back on your fat and sweets intake, and doing some cardiovascular exercise a few days a week. Despite all this, you still feel burned out, can’t drop those extra pounds, and don’t have the energy to greet each day with enthusiasm. What are you missing?

There is no such thing as an ileostomy diet. An ileostomy is not a sickness, so there is usually no health reason for not eating the foods you ate in the past. If you have a special diet because of heart disease, diabetes, or other health problems, you should ask your doctor about a diet that will work with both the problem and your ileostomy.

Our friends at the Ostomy Help blog have posted about the benefits of both sunlight and Vitamin D in maintaining your overall health. With the warmth of summer still several months away, we would like to remind our readers of the benefits of taking Vitamin D as well as Calcium, both in the form of daily dietary intake as well as supplements when we can’t get our daily dose of Vitamin D from the natural sunlight we normally do in the middle of winter.

When traveling overseas (or any flight lasting more than eight hours), being prepared is key.

While many parts of the central and eastern USA have seen near record high temperatures in the past

Different ostomy surgeries produce different varieties of output. This is largely due to the location of the ostomy and the stoma. One of the colon's functions is to absorb water from the contents of the bowel. As such, the more colon that is left intact after your surgery, the more solid your discharge is going to be and the more predictable as well.

Colostomy irrigation is the process of infusing water into the colon through the stoma similar to an enema. The irrigation process stimulates the colon to then empty. By performing this process once a day at a set time, it is often possible to train the colon to empty only after irrigation. This allows the colostomate to simply use a stoma cover or stoma cap, rather than the pouch normally required, for the majority of the day.