UMC colorectal surgeon "master" of diagnostic techniques

Retired truck driver Lee Stiff was selective about where he used the bathroom when he was on the road.

He says he often would put off using the restroom until he could find a clean facility.

So when Stiff began to notice blood in the toilet after his bowel movements, he assumed it was from delaying going to the restroom for long periods.

It turned out that Stiff, a truck driver for 21 years, was wrong; he had developed rectal cancer.

“It freaked me out,” said Stiff of the diagnosis. “I had planned to take a trip to the Bahamas. I went ahead and had the surgery instead. Every-thing turned out all right.”

Stiff sought treatment for the cancer at the Medical Center, where he was under the care of Dr. Farshid Araghizadeh, one of two active surgeons in the state with a board certification in colorectal surgery.

“Certainly, the majority of general surgeons here also can take care of colorectal problems,” said Araghizadeh, an assistant professor of surgery. “I think there are some circumstances where there is a need for a person who is trained specifically in colon and rectal surgery.

“I think what separates colorectal surgeons is the fact that . . . we have spent at least one year or more than most general surgeons dealing exclusively with diseases of the colon and rectum.”

Araghizadeh, a graduate of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, is a rare resource because of his wealth of specialized knowledge, said Dr. William Turner, James D. Hardy professor and chair of surgery.

“As a board-certified surgeon, he has mastered specialized surgical diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that are not available elsewhere,” Turner said.

Along with colon and rectal cancer patients, Araghizadeh sees a variety of other patients, including those suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and rectal disorders such as hemorrhoids and diverticulitis. Stiff became one of Araghizadeh’s patients in 2004 after his rectal cancer diagnosis.

Stiff said the diagnosis scared him. “The first thing I thought was, ‘Oh, Lord,’” the Jackson resident said.

Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer, according to a 2005 American Cancer Society report. The ACS estimates there will be 145,290 new cases of colorectal cancer in the U.S. this year and 56,290 deaths as a result of the disease.

The exact cause of colorectal cancer is not known, but there are a few steps people can take to prevent the disease, including colorectal cancer screenings, exercise, proper diet and eliminating the use of alcohol and tobacco products.

Most colorectal cancers begin as a polyp, a small growth in the wall of the colon.

“This truly is one of the only cancers that is preventable if patients are screened at the appropriate age,” Araghizadeh said. “If polyps are detected in an early stages we can perform a polypectomy to prevent the progression to cancer.”

Men and women 50 years of age and older should be screened for colorectal cancer. People with a family history of the disease should be screened earlier, preferably by age 45, Araghizadeh said.

Nationwide, less than 50 percent of the U.S. population age 50 or older has been screened for colon or rectal cancer, according to the American Cancer Society report.

Many people ignore the signs of colorectal cancer, such as bleeding from the rectum or blood in the toilet after bowel movements, medical professionals say.

“This is a pretty embarrassing subject for the majority of people,” Araghizadeh said. “Everybody needs to be reminded this is just a part of the body.”

-Thyrie Bland (8-1-05)

2005-08-01 00:00:00 2684