A colon polyp is a growth on the colon (large intestine), and you can have more than one of them. Flat polyps can be smaller and tougher to see, and are often more likely to be cancerous. Polyps are more likely if you eat a lot of fatty foods, smoke, drink alcohol, shun exercise and therefore weigh more than you should. A colonoscopy is typically the test your doctor will use to check for any polyps, and unless there are indications otherwise, you'll be urged to have this screening at age 50.

According to this latest study, those who did exercise on a regular basis had a 16% less chance of having bowel polyps and were 35% less likely to have large polyps. Known technically as adenomas, polyps are growths found in the bowel that aren't cancerous themselves, but have the capacity to become cancer if given enough time. This represents only a fraction of polyps but researchers do believe most bowel cancers start with a polyp.

Research experts point out that the work shows a clear association between being regularly active and a lower chance of bowel cancer. And while there are a few likely explanations, it's not clear why the link exists, only that it does.

Doctors know that exercise is super helpful to the body in many ways, including...

- Lowers insulin levels and boosts your body's reaction to hyperinsulinemia
- Makes the immune system function more effectively
- Keeps your weight in the healthy range
- If you exercise outdoors, you also take in beneficial vitamin D

At least 30 minutes of moderate level activity a day - any activity that results in you being slightly short of breath is what you're after.

In both the United States and United Kingdom, cancer of the bowel is number 3 in the lists of the most common form of cancer.

According to Cancer Research UK most bowel cancers come from polyps, and that one in four of us have at least one by the age of 50, about half have developed them by 70. If you're worried about your own bowel cancer risk, be sure to get the screenings that your doctor recommends.

Some persistent myths about bowel cancer include...

- It's more common in men - in fact, this cancer is just as common in women as in men.
- It can't be prevented - it can, and is, when polyps are found (and removed) early.
- African American men and women are safe - in fact they die at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group.
- Age plays a part - over 90% of cases are found in people 50 or over.
- It's deadly, so why get tested - in fact this form of cancer is highly treatable, and if found early, the 5 year survival rate is a whopping 90%. It's the delay in testing for cancerous polyps in the bowel that's truly deadly.

A new report finds that if one of the benefits of exercise is that you're 33% less likely to have cancerous polyps in the bowel. The work includes 20 earlier studies that examine the relationship between exercise and the growth of large polyps. The researchers believe they've produced the highly accurate figures that show low levels of exercise are linked to polyps.

By Kirsten Whittaker

Lung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells. Lung cancer, the most common cause of cancer-related death in men and the second most common in women,[1][2] is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide annually.

What causes lung cancer?

Smoking
The incidence of lung cancer is strongly correlated with cigarette smoking, with about 90% of lung cancers arising as a result of tobacco use. The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked over time; doctors refer to this risk in terms of pack-years of smoking history (the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years smoked).

Lung cancer most commonly begins in the cells that line your lungs. Smoking causes the majority of lung cancers — both in smokers and in people exposed to secondhand smoke. But lung cancer also occurs in people who never smoked. In these cases, there may be no clear cause of lung cancer. Doctors have identified factors that may increase the risk.

Cancer that originates from lung cells is called a primary lung cancer. Primary lung cancer can start in the airways that branch off the trachea to supply the lungs (the bronchi) or in the small air sacs of the lung (the alveoli). Cancer may also spread (metastasize) to the lung from other parts of the body (most commonly from the breasts, colon, prostate, kidneys, thyroid gland, stomach, cervix, rectum, testes, bone, or skin).

Lung Cancer Symptoms
Lung cancer symptoms are commonly not experienced until the disease had advanced, sometimes delaying diagnosis. The symptoms of lung cancer also mimic the symptoms of other benign illnesses.

The most common lung cancer symptoms experienced are : Onset of wheezing
Recurrent pneumonia or bronchitis
Fever, rapid breathing rate, and abnormal breathing sounds heard through a stethoscope may be signs of pneumonia.

Lung Cancer Diagnosis
To help find the cause of symptoms, your doctor will evaluate your medical history, smoking history, exposure to environmental and occupational substances, and family history of cancer. Your doctor also will perform a physical exam and may recommend a chest X-ray and other tests. If lung cancer is suspected, sputum cytology — the microscopic examination of cells obtained from a deep-cough sample of mucus in the lungs — is a simple test that may be useful in detecting lung cancer. To confirm the presence of lung cancer, your doctor must examine tissue.

How can I prevent lung cancer?
The best way to prevent lung cancer is to quit smoking, or to never start in the first place. You should try and avoid being around people who are smoking; and also avoid pipes, cigars, and marijuana. Use a detector to make sure the radon levels are low.

Treatment Of Lung Cancer
Many factors must be taken into account to determine the best treatment for an individual diagnosed with lung cancer. The specific type of cell, the location of the lung tumor, the stage of the disease with possible metastasis (spread to other parts of the body), and the general health of the individual must be considered. Various treatment plans may include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or surgery.

Lung Cancer: Basic Facts
We all have heard of lung cancer but how many of us are well aware of its symptoms?
The lung cancer is one of the most perilous diseases that kill thousands of Americans every year and each year the number of cases are increasing. With the occurrences of lung cancer on the rise, it is essential that we learn about the basic factors leading to lung cancer and what should be the courses of action in case of lung cancer diagnosis. Here are the basic information regarding lung cancer that will help you to understand how and when it develops and how to steer clear of this killer disease.

Lung cancer is that condition of your lungs where an abnormal reproduction of cells takes place. Sometimes lumps of cancerous cells or the tumors invade the organs. Our lungs allow the oxygen from the air to pass into the bloodstream and carbon dioxide to eliminate from the system. Now any kind of lung disease including lung cancer impairs this function of lungs to transfer oxygen into blood and remove carbon dioxide from it. The result is many kinds of disorders relating to breathing trouble and cough.

Do you know what the most dreadful part of the lung cancer is? One rarely comes to suspect that he or she is suffering from lung cancer until it is too late and goes beyond any kind of treatment. This is because, signs and symptoms associated with lung cancer are never acute or alarming until the later stages of malignancy and it is often at this stage when someone starts to experience the typical symptoms of lung cancer. So it is recommended that if you ever experience any symptom even remotely related to lung cancer, rush to the doctor without delay so that in case of diagnosis of lung cancer you can avail the treatments as early as possible.

So what are the common symptoms of lung cancer? Nagging cough that seems never to end coupled with constant chest pain may be the warning of something being grossly wrong with your lungs. The person displaying certain apathy for food followed by a remarkable weight loss may be an indication of lung cancer and the patients of lung cancer often complain of fatigue. However, swelling of neck and face is also one of the symptoms of lung cancer.

Remember lung cancer can be prevented if you give up smoking. So stay away from the cigars, cigarettes, pipes and other tobacco products. Also insist that the smokers should always smoke inside the smoking zone; do not allow the second hand smokes damage your lungs.