(WSVN) - A growing health scare is threatening the lives of young adults all over the country, including right here in South Florida. Local doctors are racing to find the key to curbing this deadly cancer crisis. 7’s Heather Walker investigates.
Naike Vorbe looks like the picture of health, but she’s in a battle for her life.
Naike Vorbe: “I was only 31 years old, and this seems unreal and impossible.”
Just weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Naike was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer.
Naike Vorbe: “I thought of the worst right away. I’m like, ‘I’m going to die.'”
She is one of thousands of adults between the ages of 20 to 49 who are developing the disease each year.
Naike Vorbe: “I broke down and cried many times. I have to say it was extremely hard. It was a moment; it was difficult.”
The American Cancer Society says colon cancer rates in younger adults have nearly doubled in the past three decades.
Dr. Daniel Sussman: “It’s a trend that has been observed for several years and only recently has really garnered a lot of attention.”
Dr. Daniel Sussman treated Naike at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami. He says many times, younger patients don’t find out they have cancer until it has advanced to a late stage.
Dr. Daniel Sussman: “So when people get diagnosed with advanced-stage cancers, they are more likely to die from those cancers than if it was caught at an early stage.”
The big concern doctors have is what could be causing the scary rise in colon cancer rates. Here at Sylvester, they believe the answer could be in your gut.
Dr. Maria Abreu, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center: “Something in the microbiome has changed, and it’s setting in motion this chronic inflammation in the [gastrointestinal] tract.”
Dr. Maria Abreu was recently awarded a grant to research this increase in colon cancer. She believes chemicals and bacteria in processed food are causing an enzyme in the gut to flare up. That causes constant inflammation that could develop into cancer.
Dr. Maria Abreu: “These ultra-processed foods create a lot of noise in the microbial system.”
Even the foods we think are good for us can be a problem.
Dr. Maria Abreu: “Things like emulsifiers that are added in, things that are creamy, you know, the nonfat yogurts and all these things, really can change the gut microbiome very profoundly.”
Dr. Abreu and her team are trying to develop new testing that can help them stop the intestinal inflammation from leading to cancer.
Dr. Maria Abreu: “It will tell us this person has a leaky gut, their microbiome is abnormal. We need to try to address that.”
Until that happens, doctors suggest people cut down on processed foods and try to eat as healthy as possible.
Dr. Maria Abreu: “I tell my own patients that anything that comes in a bag with an expiration date next year is not food,.”
Naike is now cancer-free and focused on the future.
Naike Vorbe: “How can I not go through this again?”
And more importantly, how does she keep her kids from facing the same battle?
Heather Walker, 7News.
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