Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Can Diet Prevent Colon Cancer From Coming Back?
An unhealthy diet has long been associated with an increased risk of developing colon cancer, at times without much evidence other than common sense. Now a growing body of research is backing up these claims with studies showing that people who eat “good” foods may indeed be able to reduce their risk of developing colon cancer.
While most research has focused on the impact of diet on the initial development of colon cancer (what’s known as primary prevention), only a few small studies have examined the effect of diet on colon cancer recurrence. But findings from a new, larger study looking at that question suggest that eating "good" foods can reduce your risk of a recurrence of colon cancer as well and improve your odds of survival.
New research also demonstrates the value of certain nutrients in reducing the risk of colorectal polyp recurrence. But when it comes to adding some supplements to your diet to get those nutrients, there can be too much of a good thing.
What’s Your Dietary Pattern? My diet consists primarily of:
A) fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, poultry, and fish
B) red meat, fried foods, full-fat dairy products, refined grains, and desserts
If you selected B, beware. Investigators who examined the relationship between the dietary patterns of more than 1,000 people who had been treated for stage III colon cancer and their risk of colon cancer recurrence found that those who followed a typical American diet (answer B) were three times more likely to experience a recurrence of colon cancer than their counterparts who followed a more prudent diet (answer A), and they also were more likely to die.
The study, which was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to address the effect of diet on recurrence in a population of colon cancer survivors. Since this was an observational study that relied on the participants to remember and report what they ate, the investigators caution that their results do not prove that a typical American diet causes colorectal cancers to recur. However, the results, they say, do strongly suggest that a diet consisting primarily of red and processed meats, french fries, refined grains, and sweets and desserts increases the risk of cancer recurrence and decreases survival.
Posted in Colon Cancer on August 5, 2008
Reviewed September 2011
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I was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer in 8/05, had a partial colectomy and 6 months of chemo. I was miserable every day for a year and a half after the surgery before removing all gluten and dairy from my diet and then adding probiotics and lactic acid yeast wafers. I started feeling better soon after that change and have felt fabulous for a year and a half now. I am still eating completely gluten free, and dairy free for the most part, and never processed meats, but have no other diet restrictions.
Posted by: niewiad4 | August 11, 2008 9:11 AM
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I had my sigmoid and part of my colon removed successfully with negative margins, when I was diagnosed with advanced Stage III colon cancer in December 2006. I went through 9 treatments of FOX4 and oxaliplatin and had to stop because of extreme weight loss and malnutrition! Since then I have found that I cannot eat whole grains and have been on a low fibre, low residue diet. Whenever I eat raw fruit, poultry or whole grain rice for example I get streaming diarrhea. I go every month for checkups, have CT scans every 6 months and flexible sigmoidoscopies every 4 months! So far I have no recurrence of the cancer. I also have a heart condition resulting from viral cardiomyopathy so I have to watch my salt intake. I do not eat red meat. I do have to take whole fat yogurt and not non-fat. Otherwise I am well. Does anyone else have similar problems? How do others cope with the high fiber diet suggested in this article?
Posted by: Herkleez | August 5, 2008 9:21 AM