'Colorectal cancer cases see/register spurt in last 20 yrs'

New Delhi: Colorectal cancer cases among young adults have been increasing over the last two decades, and the Covid pandemic has worsened the plight of patients suffering from this ailment, a leading private healthcare group said on Thursday.

Doctors at a hospital run by the Apollo Healthcare said delay in screening when symptoms show up also aggravates these cases, and during the pandemic many patients' ailments moved into advanced stages as they stayed at home. Colorectal cancer starts in the colon or the rectum. "The rate of colorectal cancer has been increasing among young adults in their 20s to 40s over the last two decades. This is an age when people are active, building families and careers and it is important to ensure quality of life for these patients after treatment.

"However, colorectal cancer if identified in the early stages can be completely cured and robotic colorectal surgery helps patients avoid colostomy and lead a normal life," the healthcare group said in a statement.

The Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery in Chennai on Thursday marked completion of its five years, and held an event, both offline and online, during which some of the patients who have undergone surgery for colorectal cancer also shared their experiences.

Among the people who have benefitted from this unit is a 28-years-old post-graduate medical student who had successfully undergone robotic colorectal surgery for low rectal cancer, and went on to complete her higher education and won a gold medal, the Apollo Healthcare group said.

The unit offers cutting-edge minimally invasive robotic surgical techniques and technology in the treatment of patients with colorectal diseases, especially colorectal cancer, it said.Dr. Venkatesh Munikrishnan, consultant colorectal and robotic surgeon, at the Apollo Institute of Colorectal Surgery, said, "She was diagnosed with very low rectal cancer in 2017 when she was 24 years of age, just as she was about to join her medical post-graduation.

"It was a shock to her as she expected that even with treatment, her medical dreams would come to an abrupt halt. This is because conventional surgery for colorectal cancer leaves patients with a colostomy, i.e., a surgically created opening in the body that routes bowel waste away into an external colostomy bag."