A respected Nakota Sioux man was sitting and talking about his glory days as a traditional dancer and the many distant areas he had traveled. Canada, California, New Mexico and even Connecticut, you name it, he had danced and, perhaps more often than not, won a couple bucks here and there.

But did I mention he was talking about his glory days? As soon as he had told me about the last powwow he attended, he then started to talk about why he had stopped for a period in his life. Colon Cancer.

Native Americans, like the Nakota elder, become colorectally cancer-stricken at a rate of 21.5 per 100,000 according to the American Cancer Society. Although Native Americans have the lowest incidence and mortality among other ethnic groups, it is still a serious and tough challenge to the people.

What is Colorectal Cancer?

Your colon and rectum are part of the digestive system (Fig. 1), which absorbs water and nutrients and is also involved in excreting waste through the anus. Specifically, the colon is about six to eight feet long, and the rectum is the last eight to ten inches.

Often, when colorectal cancer begins to form, a polyp (Fig. 2) will develop beforehand. These polyps consist of benign growths of cells that may have no helpful function within the wall of the colon or the rectum. As a person ages, especially after the age of 50, polyp development becomes increasingly common.

Although the presence of polyps does not mean a person has cancer, it does increase the risk that colorectal cancer may occur.

The Sioux elder became aware of many signs before he went to Indian Health Service (I.H.S.) and found out that he had colorectal cancer. Foremost on his list of symptoms was the slight pain in his lower abdomen, bloody feces, and he would at times feel very tired. However, these symptoms are not definitively indicative of colorectal cancer and can only be diagnosed by seeing a doctor. Our writers will discuss how doctors determine if an individual has colorectal cancer in this issue of TRIBALISTIC.

After determining that he did have cancer of the colon, the elder needed to decide on what to do next. What would you do? What are the options?

For the traditional Sioux elder, the answer was obvious…

Inspecting the Colon and Rectum

Just exactly how do doctors determine

someone has colorectal cancer? This article

will explain just that.

Delving into the Realm of Recovery

This article will provide an overview on the

tasks utilized to fight colorectal cancer

Colorectal Considerations for Natives

Men and women alike are equally susceptible

to colorectal cancer. But being Native is

another cause for pause and reflection.