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Primary and Secondary Prevention of Colorectal Carcinoma by People over 50
HORNÍKOVÁ, Kateřina
As the title reveals, the thesis deals with primary and secondary prevention of colorectal carcinoma among people over 50 years of age. Colorectal carcinoma, i.e. tumour disease of the colon or rectum, is a serious disease with increasing incidence. The Czech Republic has one of the highest incidence rates of this disease and is at the forefront of global statistics. Every year, about 8000 people are diagnosed with colorectal carcinoma in our country and about 4000 patients die of this disease every year. Almost four people out of ten have vicarious experience with colorectal carcinoma, claiming that someone in their immediate vicinity has developed this disease. Early detection of the disease is thus of crucial importance. Prevention and diagnostics play a major role because tumours detected at an early stage can be treated well. It is reported that lifestyle, the right regimen, plenty of physical activity, wholesome food with an appropriate proportion of fibre and vitamins have a 60 to 80 % impact on the development of carcinoma. The disease poses a threat mainly to people over fifty years of age and people with genetic predispositions. The thesis is divided into a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part consists of several chapters. First of all, I will be dealing with the basic anatomy and physiology of the colon and rectum. Then I will be dealing with the colorectal carcinoma itself, its development, symptoms, incidence or epidemiological aspects of the disease in the Czech Republic. I will be dealing with the risk factors of colorectal carcinoma that include age, lifestyle, as well as hereditary predispositions. A large part of the thesis is dedicated to colorectal carcinoma prevention. I will be focusing on primary and secondary prevention, including the faecal occult blood test and colonoscopy. Finally, I will touch on diagnostics and treatment of colorectal carcinoma. The practical part makes use of the research data obtained through a quantitative interrogation method, a questionnaire. The questionnaire was anonymous and included 32 questions. The first group of the questions was focused on basic information about the respondents. The rest of the questions concerned respondents´ awareness of colorectal carcinoma, its risk factors and potential prevention. I explored the respondents´ attitudes to lifestyle, their concern for tumour diseases in general, as well as whether they regularly see their physician. A substantial part of the questionnaire was devoted to questions regarding the occult blood test and colorectal screening. The questionnaire was intended for people over 50 years of age. The purpose of the thesis was to map awareness of the risk factors of colorectal carcinoma, look into awareness of the options of secondary prevention of colorectal carcinoma and whether people attend regular screenings. I examined the importance of giving media publicity to the disease and thus related interest in this issue. I wished to know whether there is a gender difference in the interest in undergoing colorectal screening. Four hypotheses were established in the research. Hypothesis 1: People over the age of 50 are informed about the risk factors of colorectal carcinoma. This hypothesis was confirmed. Hypothesis 2: People over the age of 50 know the options of secondary prevention of colorectal carcinoma. This hypothesis was only partially confirmed. Hypothesis 3: The number of colorectal screenings undergone by women over the age of 50 is statistically more significant than that of man over 50 years of age. This hypothesis was not confirmed for the occult blood test. However, men underwent colonoscopy more often. Hypothesis 4: The interest in undergoing colorectal screening increases with the level of education attained. The actual proportion of those who underwent an occult blood test or colonoscopy does not differ depending on education, and therefore hypothesis number 4 was not confirmed.
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