How can one prevent colon cancer if it is prevalent in the family? Professor Harry Seftel gives his advice on Cape Talk's 'Medically Speaking' programme.

Verina: I recently lost my husband to colon cancer.

Harry: This is a very, very common cancer. It is the second or third most common cancer in the Western world.

Verina: My two sisters have also had this operation for a tumour in the colon.

Harry: So in other words, it's in the family.

Verina: Well, my husband was not a blood relative of theirs.

Harry: Yes, but why I mention that is because your two sisters had it and there is a family element. There is a genetic element in colon cancer. It's not a very large contribution to colon cancer but it is definitely there.

Verina: So what does one do to prevent it?

Harry: Well you've got to be very careful indeed so you may have to have more regular check-ups. For example, many doctors recommend that all people over the age of 55 or 60 have what we call a colonoscopy. In other words, you pass a tube right through the colon in order to try and detect the cancer at an early stage. Other people have suggested other screening techniques like checking for blood in the stool, but how useful these are is debatable. But certainly, beyond a certain age it may be useful to have a colonoscopy.

Verina: What about food types?

Harry: Sure, as far as the diet is concerned there has been some controversy about this. At one time it was thought that you should eat a lot of fibre because it was thought that people who eat a lot of refined foods are more likely to get colon cancer.

Verina: And yet that wasn't the case here.

Harry: Well as I said, that is a debatable issue because more recent work has not been able to confirm very convincingly that a high fibre diet would protect you against colon cancer. I still believe that you should have a high fibre diet with lots of fruit and vegetables because I believe there is still a possibility that at least in some people it may be protective. The other aspect of the diet that people have incriminated is a diet that is high in meat. And again, from a general health standpoint I would advise people to cut down on the intake of animal protein including red meat and also to increase your intake of plant foods.

Verina: Okay, thank you.