Survey reveals that women and workers are more vulnerable to the consequences of colorectal cancer. 31% of those surveyed under 65 suffer from financial difficulties.
With more than 42,000 new cases each year, colorectal cancer is the third most frequent cancer in France and the second leading cause of death in France. However, when it is detected in time, the pathology is cured in 9 out of 10 cases (against 50% in the event of late detection).
But living with it remains difficult. This is indeed what emerges from the results of the national survey “Living with colorectal cancer” (1) published this Thursday on the occasion of the 10th edition of Mars Blue, disease awareness month.
Lots of extra costs
The main results show in particular that women and working people are more vulnerable to the consequences of colorectal cancer: 24% of women and 31% of people under 65 years of age suffer from financial difficulties (against, respectively, 16% of men and 5% over 65s).
“It is much more difficult for men to talk about the difficulties encountered because this cancer is very taboo, intimate. Personally, I encountered financial problems because, contrary to what I had been told, I was not 100% covered. I had a lot of additional costs, ”says a patient named Sandra Tivan in a press release.
More than 6 months before consulting
The survey also shows that one in two patients discovered their disease alerted by its specific symptoms (mainly blood in the stool and fatigue). However, more than a third of patients (34%) waited more than 6 months before consulting. If 60% of people questioned say they were satisfied with the announcement of the diagnosis, 54% said that this announcement was made to them without the presence of a loved one.
“Globally, colorectal cancer presents rather common digestive symptoms such as constipation, diarrhea, stomach ache. People over 50 do not realize that these persistent symptoms could be related to colorectal cancer. This lack of knowledge of symptoms explains the delay in consulting patients and therefore the sometimes advanced stage of cancer during diagnosis, ”explains Stéphane Korsia-Meffre, head of the survey. The latter calls on the health authorities to set up an awareness campaign on these symptoms so that people can consult quickly and that colorectal cancer is caught in time.
The interest of a physical or sporting activity
To maintain morale during their care, patients favor family life at 73% and friends at 52%. Only 31% participate in a physical or sports activity. And this sedentary lifestyle harms their well-being.
“As for breast cancer, the practice of regular physical activity in people suffering from colorectal cancer makes it possible to live better with its treatment and to reduce the risk of recurrence by 20% to 30%”, recalls Stéphane Korsia- Meffre.
(1) “Living with colorectal cancer” survey carried out by the France Côlon association, with financial support from the Roche Foundation and the intervention of Epidaurus, among 225 patients with colorectal cancer (questionnaires submitted in the hospital services or available online) – from September 2014 to September 2015.
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