HOUSTON \u2014 Colorectal cancer patients are getting younger in Texas and around the country, according to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the largest cancer center in the world. A new facility inside UT MD Anderson is bringing art, design and technology together to meet the growing demand for more specialized care.<\/p>\n
Rajalakshmi Chungath Puthen was just 35 years old when doctors diagnosed her with stage 4 colorectal cancer in 2020, saying it had already spread to her lungs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I opened my eyes, the doctor told me some bad news. It\u2019s a tumor,\u201d Puthen said. \u201cIt was shocking news for us, because we had a 3-year-old little girl and an 8-year-old boy. That night, I told my husband, \u2018Can I do suicide?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Her husband and family gave her a change of heart, and she said two years after treatment at UT MD Anderson, she was cancer-free.<\/p>\n
\u201cI literally cried, because that was the big news we were waiting for,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Sadly, many patients never see that moment, Dr. Van Morris, a gastrointestinal oncologist at UT MD Anderson, confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore and more people are dying each year under the age of 50 with this diagnosis of colorectal cancer,\u201d he said, explaining doctors have seen\u00a0an alarming increase in younger patients over the last five to 10 years, with the number of cases rising by 2% each year. He said there is no single cause, but an unhealthy diet, genetics and the environment are risk factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe certainly see this in Texas, but this is a trend that we\u2019re seeing across the United States,\u201d Morris said.<\/p>\n
UT\u00a0MD Anderson recently opened its new Colorectal Cancer Center, which doctors say will help them better diagnose and treat patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to create an environment where they\u2019re not alone. We\u2019re here with them,\u201d said Dr. Nancy You, a colon and rectal surgeon and the\u00a0director of the\u00a0young-onset colorectal cancer program.<\/p>\n
The more than 24,000 square foot facility includes 32 exam rooms for procedures and supportive services. Doctors for each patient all work together at one location that combines technology, design and an art installation for a soothing environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of the exam rooms has artwork in it. Some of the rooms are equipped with a digital art display,\u201d said You.\u00a0\u201cWe really wanted to build a center to improve patient experience, particularly as they\u2019re going through a time in their life that\u2019s super stressful and maybe a little fearful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Puthen is thankful for the doctors and the divine intervention she says saved her life, and she believes the center will serve as a ray of hope for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cBe positive. Be focused. Enjoy every moment. Value life,\u201d\u00a0Puthen said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2014 Colorectal cancer patients are getting younger in Texas and around the country, according to the University…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282204,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2271,132,1570,102,138,25523,56,58,57,223,82,27,1569,15717,835],"class_list":["post-282203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-app-health","tag-austin","tag-ctv","tag-dallas","tag-el-paso","tag-health-and-medicine","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-news","tag-san-antonio","tag-texas","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-valencia-jones","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}