County Health, Fitness Expo Draws Crowd to Wildwood Center

WILDWOOD – Cape May County hosted a Health and Fitness Expo. The March 23 event was held at Wildwood Convention Center.
Present were many purveyors of fitness and health services whose representatives explained their services to those who attended. During the event, blood pressure and glucose readings were taken to advise if further physician’s attention was needed.
One of the event’s highlights, Colon Cancer Update, was presented by Dr. David J. Landset, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, chair of Endoscopy Services and chair of the Department of Medicine at Cape Regional Medical Center. He is also an assistant clinical professor or medicine at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Landset said that type of cancer is the second highest cause of cancer death in the nation.
“It is largely preventable through appropriate screening,” Landset said. “Only a small percentage of people in this country get that appropriate screening.”
One of the reasons he gave the presentation was to educate the public on strategies to help reduce the incidence of people getting colon cancer.
Screening for colon cancer typically begins is age 50, “Unless someone is in a high-risk group,” said Landset.
Both sexes have similar incidence of the disease, he said.
Testing for colon cancer is a colonoscopy, which “takes about 20 minutes” to perform. Preparation for the test the prior day is the most remembered part of the test.
“Most insurance cover the cost of that test,” Landset said.
While there is no way to prevent colon cancer, Landset said there are steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of developing the disease.
Those steps include diet, exercise, and having the screening performed. “That is the most important,” he stated.
“Most colon cancer starts as polyps in the colon,” he said. While performing a colonoscopy, if polyps are discovered, they will be removed. That is the most widely known treatment, he added.
If none is found during the procedure, the test will not have to be performed for another decade.
Landset noted that while he has no figures to prove whether Cape May County’s incidence rate is higher than average, he said New Jersey is one of the states with the highest incidence of colon cancer in the general population. “The incidence of polyps is between 20 and 25 percent,” he added.
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