Colon Cancer Colon Cancer is one of most common types of cancer, but it is also one of most preventable. Among many ways that men and women can lower their risk of this disease is to maintain a healthy weight. Data shows that obese people are 50 percent more likely than lean adults to develop non-cancerous growths in colon that have potential become cancerous.

So instead of opting for maybe a possible malignancy with those extra helpings, help yourself to a mindfulness of determining whether or not really are hungry, and congratulate yourself for making a healthy choice.

(Some excerpts printed with permission from The Nurses Health Study Annual Newsletter /November 2003, vol. 10)

Link: Assess your own cancer risk: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa

4. Answer questions mindfully. Don’t just agree because it is asked; physicians purposely throw in red herrings to gather information. “Does it hurt behind your eyeballs when you urinate?” a Harvard physician earnestly asks in such situations. If “yes,” patient reports were usually considered suspect and “unreliable historian” was documented in chart. Be as clear and thoughtful as possible about your answers.

5. “What is plan?” Healthcare providers are trained to think ahead. A backup plan should exist for addressing problem; it may be a follow-up visit with a more aggressive treatment (if first approach doesn’t work) or, a referral to a specialist. Simply put, expect a plan: if it doesn’t exist, you are not getting good care.

That’s a little inside scoop on how to have a successful visit to your healthcare provider.