#CareForColon cyclothon: 300 cyclists, doctors from Hyd pedal to raise awareness

Hyderabad: As many as 300 cyclists, doctors, and others participated in the "Care for Colon Campaign" on Saturday. The cyclothon was held to create awareness regarding colorectal cancers.

As per various medical studies, colorectal cancers in India are affecting younger, working-class people with high mortality rates. Presented with trivial symptoms like constipation, blood in the stool which many ignore as hemorrhoids, chronic fatigue or weakness throughout the day, and unintentional weight loss, colorectal cancers grow silently inside the body. By the time the patient comes to the specialist, in most cases, it's already at an advanced stage.

On 23 April, several cycling groups in the city joined the #CareForColon cyclothon, making it one of the biggest cycle rallies for a public health cause in the state with over 250 cyclists, 30 doctors, and three cycling communities – Happy Hyderabad Community, Hyderabad Cycling Group, and Hyderabad Bicycling Club – participating. The cyclothon was organised by AIG hospitals.

MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla also participated in the event. "We need to eat the right food with adequate physical activities to prevent colorectal cancers before it plagues our society. It is of paramount importance we understand the value of a good, balanced diet, something that we need to advocate collectively," she said.

Dr. D. Nageshwar Reddy, the chairman and chief of gastroenterology, AIG Hospitals, added, "We rarely used to see colorectal cancers in India a few decades ago but with the advent of sedentary urban lifestyle combined with low fibrous high-calorie diet, the incidence of these cancers is outgrowing all others."

Detection and diagnosis

The campaign brought out educational content in the form of interactive videos to highlight the symptoms, the importance of basic diagnostic procedures like colonoscopy, latest curative modalities including surgical and chemo/radiotherapy-based treatment options.

Screening of the colon is the most simplistic yet efficient way to detect and diagnose early colorectal cancers. "Colonoscopy is an excellent tool to diagnose early-stage colonic polyps which can turn cancerous in the future. Using technology such as narrow-band imaging, it is possible to correctly characterise these polyps and perform endoscopic procedures to remove the affected tissues," Dr. Reddy added.

Dr. G.V Rao, the director and chief of surgical gastroenterology at AIG, while explaining the role of technology in surgical management, said, "Indocyanine green (ICG) enhanced fluorescence used during laparoscopic colorectal resection minimises vascular injury thereby increasing the overall surgical success."