Wednesday, January 10, 2024

What to know about appendiceal cancer

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What to know about the disease that killed actor Adan Canto
By Haley Weiss
Health Reporter

The actor Adan Canto, best known for his work on Designated Survivor and other network dramas, died this week at just 42 years old following treatment for a rare form of intestinal cancer. Appendiceal cancer, which occurs in the appendix, is particularly uncommon in people under 50, says Dr. Alok Khorana, a medical oncologist and colorectal cancer researcher at the Cleveland Clinic.

The disease is about as mysterious as the organ itself, but there are a few key things that make it distinct from other cancers:

  • Because the appendix doesn’t serve a critical function, no bodily process gets messed up when a tumor appears. In most cases, appendiceal cancer is spotted only after a burst appendix (or one causing significant pain) is removed and then tested.
  • When it is caught early, appendiceal cancer can be easily treatable. No other organ in the body can be removed with next-to-no consequences.
  • No screening process yet exists. Though the appendix is attached to the colon, a colonoscopy can't reach it, and there’s no real genetic component to the cancers that form there. Because of appendicial cancer’s random nature, Khorana says it’s important to never brush aside pressing GI concerns—especially pain in the lower right quadrant of your abdomen.

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AN EXPERT VOICE

"If you think you've been exposed [to COVID-19], put on a mask until you're sure [you're not sick]. If you're highly susceptible to severe disease and you're going grocery shopping, put on a mask to help yourself feel better.

[And] it certainly makes sense for medical institutions, nursing homes, and retirement communities to consider mask mandates, because they're places where lots of people at high risk for serious disease are coming together."

—Andrew Pekosz, virologist at Johns Hopkins University, on when to mask at this stage of the pandemic

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Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Jamie Ducharme, and edited by Mandy Oaklander.

 
 
 
 
 
 

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