There are many things we tend to write off as normal signs of getting older. The aches and pain, the slow-but-steady weight gain, feeling cold all the time, getting the occasional sniffles. Sometimes I wonder if these are things I should pay more attention to, but I tend to cast that thought out of my mind because going to the doctor is inconvenient. And usually, ignoring symptoms is ok, but there are some that, according to the Mayo Clinic, you should never ignore, including:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Persistent fever
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained changes in bowel habits
• Mental status changes
  
• Severe headaches
• Loss of vision, movement or speaking control, even if it's short-term
• Flashes of light
• Feeling full after eating little
• Hot, red or swollen joints

I definitely agree that these should be cause for alarm. My dad started to exhibit several of these symptoms a few months before he passed away, but explain them away as normal aging. Don't make the same mistake.

Our bodies are good at telling us when something is wrong most of the time. It is important to listen to those messages and seek medical attention when specific symptoms arise. The June issue of the Mayo Health Letter covers symptoms that should not be ignored.

Seven symptoms not to ignore:

• Unexplained weight loss: This could be a symptom of such conditions as an overactive thyroid, depression, liver disease, cancer or other noncancerous disorders that interfere with how well your body absorbs nutrients.
• Fever: A fever can point to underlying infections. A fever accompanied by chills or one that is greater than 103 degrees should be evaluated immediately.
• Shortness of breath: Gasping for air or wheezing are medical emergencies. Shortness of breath can be caused by asthma, heart problems, anxiety, panic attacks, or a blood clot in the lungs.
• Severe headaches: A headache accompanied by a fever, stiff neck, rash, mental confusion, seizure, vision changes, weakness, numbness, speaking difficulties, scalp tenderness or pain when chewing are medical emergencies. Causes vary for headaches and may include stroke, blood vessel inflammation, meningitis, brain tumor, aneurysm or bleeding on the brain. Most headaches, are just that, headaches but it is important to know the warning signs for more serious underlying conditions.

When Dr. Jian-Wei Gu went to Mississippi to study the cardiovascular system and the process of blood vessel growth, he had no idea he'd make national headlines about his research into the world of cancer.

Gu, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says his discovery of the mechanism by which alcohol consumption causes tumor growth was purely accidental.

And extremely significant.

Scientists have known for a hundred years about the link between alcohol consumption and cancer. A study from Paris in 1910 showed that 80 percent of patients with cancer of the esophagus or gastric track were alcoholics. More recently, scientists have found correlations between alcohol consumption and cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, large bowel, and even the breasts. Yet lab experiments have always failed to show the effects in animals that investigators knew to be true in humans.

Until now.

It seems past studies used too much alcohol -- in concentrations of 20 percent -- and the animals just wasted away while showing no tumor growth. But when Gu used concentrations of one percent -- about one to two drinks per day in humans -- to study blood vessel growth, he detected stimulated tumor growth in both chick embryos and mice. Thus, his cancer discovery was born.

Gu has further concluded that melanoma cancers in mice grew significantly faster and larger in the mice who consumed the equivalent of one or two alcoholic drinks a day than the mice receiving no alcohol.

Gu's findings, now confirmed by other scientists, are evidence of what many have long suspected -- alcohol, even in moderation, increases cancer risk.

It's March. And that means it's the national month for Brain Injury Awareness, Endometriosis Awareness, Nutrition Awareness, Eye Health and Safety Awareness, Multiple Sclerosis Awareness, Sleep Awareness, Problem Gambling Awareness and my favorite, for the purposes of The Cancer Blog -- Colorectal Cancer Awareness.

Colorectal cancer -- cancer of the colon or rectum -- is a disease that affects both men and women and is preventable nearly 90 percent of the time.

Starting at age 50, men at women at average risk for the disease should get screened. Those with increased risk, like African-Americans who typically develop colorectal cancer at younger ages, should be screened even earlier.

Screening -- by way of fecal occult blood test (FOBT), flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy -- is critical because colorectal cancer often occurs with no symptoms. Symptoms do sometimes present themselves in the later stages of the disease and include rectal bleeding, bright red blood in or on the stool, change in bowel habits, stools that are narrower than usual, general stomach discomfort, diarrhea, constipation, frequent gas pains, unexplained weight loss, constant fatigue, and vomiting. Persistence of any of these symptoms for more than two weeks warrant an immediate visit with a health professional.

Treatment for this disease, which strikes about 153,000 people and causes about 52,000 deaths each year, includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.

In the spirit of this National Colorectal Awareness Month, experts recommend remembering these important points:

• Colorectal cancer can be prevented.
• Screening for the disease can identify polyps -- grape-sized growths in the colon and/or rectum -- that can be removed to prevent cancer from developing.
• The magic age for screening is 50 -- unless you have an increased risk for the disease.
• Colorectal cancer is treatable.
• Regardless of your age, know the risk factors, know the symptoms, and know your family history.
• Talk with your health professional about colorectal cancer and your own risk for the disease.

Colorectal cancer screening prevents more deaths due to early detection than breast or prostate cancer screening. The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center recently published a report on the 12 myths about colon cancer and getting to know them could save your life and the lives of your family and friends. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and the number one cause of cancer death among non-smokers.

Symptoms of colon cancer can include severe abdominal pain, blood in the stool or rectal bleeding, unexplained loss of weight, or major changes in bowel habits (recurrent constipation or diarrhea). But, these symptoms often do not occur until the cancer is in its more advanced stages. An absence of symptoms does not mean an absence of cancer. In fact colon cancer is often referred to as a "silent killer" because of the lack of symptoms until it is in advanced stages. A colonoscopy is the only method that can actually help prevent you from developing colon cancer in the future because during the screening colonoscopy, if the doctor finds polyps, they can remove them from your colon as part of the procedure, preventing the polyps from ever having the chance to develop into cancer. If the polyps found in your colon happen to already be cancerous, they can often be removed during your colonoscopy and treatment can begin right away.

When colon cancer is caught early, it has a 95 percent survival rate. That's why screening is so important. Once colon cancer has spread to the liver, it's usually deadly, with only a 9 percent survival rate. Colonoscopy screening is recommended for men and women beginning at age 50, unless other risk factors exist such as family history, obesity, smoking, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.

Children and teenagers -- mostly girls -- need zinc, a mineral important for maintaining healthy immune systems and healthy skin and for preventing colds and infections. Yet half of all teenage girls have zinc deficiencies.

Red meat is the most effective way of channeling zinc into the body. Perhaps these young girls are eating red meat less than two times per week -- a practice research shows can contribute to zinc deficiencies.

Iron is vital for good health. Menstruating women need it. The elderly need it. Pregnant women need it. And children need it too. But many lack healthy levels of iron.

Red meat contains a lot of iron. And while iron also comes from vegetable sources, meat contains more iron than most foods and is best utilized by the body in this form.

Red meat also contains B vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium -- and protein, critical for muscle and organ health. Protein from red meat is complete, meaning it contains all the amino acids the body cannot make on its own. Protein helps the body repair and renew.

There is definitely a good side to eating red meat. There is also a bad side.

Red meat has been linked to incidences of bowel cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, and food poisoning.

Experts say the controversy surrounding red meat comes down to the type of meat we are eating -- and how we are eating it.

There are three official red meats -- pork, lamb, and beef. Pork is the leanest, lamb is the fattiest, and beef is the most nutritious. Red meat is typically high in saturated fats and bad cholesterol. But lean beef is fairly healthy -- if it's not treated with hormones and is truly free from excess fat. The more white you see, the more fat you get.

So here is the trick for all meat-eaters out there -- choose lean meats, seek nutritious cuts of meat, avoid hormone-treated products, steer clear of processed meats (these include more additives and fats than simple cuts of pork, lamb, and beef), read labels carefully, make meat just one component of a balanced diet, and brace yourself for more research and study and discussion that will undoubtedly conclude that meat is good for us. And bad for us too.

A report in the October issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology states that capsule endoscopy can aid in the identification and management of small bowel tumors. Capsule endoscopy lets your doctor examine the lining of the middle part of your gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor will use a pill sized video capsule called an endoscope, which has its own lens and light source and will view the images on a video monitor.

Capsule endoscopy helps your doctor evaluate the small intestine. This part of the bowel cannot be reached by traditional upper endoscopy or by colonoscopy. The most common reason for having this procedure is to search for cause of bleeding from the intestine. It may also be used to detect polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers and tumors of the small intestine.

Dr. Adam Bailey from the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney says "Capsule endoscopy has the potential to achieve earlier diagnosis of small bowel malignancies offering a greater chance of cure. It should be used early in the course of investigation of suspected small bowel disease, avoiding the delay that has let to many patients having advanced disease at diagnoses.

I feel fortunate to have received every cancer drug I needed to fight my breast cancer -- Adriamycin, Cytoxan, Herceptin, and every nausea pill, pain capsule, and anti-anxiety formula on the market. I got exactly what doctors thought I needed -- without worry about availability or funding or politics. I am lucky. Some in the UK are not so lucky.

Two targeted therapies for bowel cancer will not be used in Britain's state-run health system, according to NICE -- the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. NICE, the country's financial watchdog, determined the high cost of the medicines meant their use was not compatible with the best use of resources. Patients are angry because these same two drugs -- Avastin and Erbitux -- are used widely in the United States and in much of Europe. And while neither drug offers a cure for bowel cancer, both treatments have been shown in clinical trials to extend life expectancy by four or five months in some patients.

Based on doses given during the trials, it is estimated that the average cost of treating one patient with Avastin would be around 16,800 pounds and with Erbitux -- about 11,700 pounds. Apparently, this is too much. But according to Hilary Whittaker of the charity Beating Bowel Cancer, the decision to deprive patients of this medication is a scandal. I agree. And for these patients, I am sad.

KrisTv has published a feature story on Vicki Barrilleaux, a colon cancer survivor, who has started a colon cancer awareness and screening group in Corpus Christi Texas, and who claims Katie Couric saved her life.

"Everything I knew prior to my diagnosis was what I had heard from her because of her husband," Barrilleaux said. "I was lucky, I did have some symptoms. Usually, the number one symptom of colon cancer is no symptoms, but I did have some bleeding. I was more aware because I had listened to her. It can be embarrassing, and I don't know if it's something I would have talked to my doctor about if I hadn't had that concern."

Coletta Barrett believed her stomach pains were caused by a gall bladder attack after eating greasy fried food. She excused a tightening in her lower abdomen as irritable bowel syndrome, and she explained blood in her stool as a response to stress. Only after a referral to a gastroenterologist led to a colonoscopy did she learn that the upper portion of her colon was almost completely blocked by a large tumor -- a cancerous tumor. Barrett was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her colonoscopy saved her life.

Barrett never once predicted she might have colon cancer. She thought the disease mostly struck older people. She was just 42. Screening tests are not even recommended until the age of 50. She had no family history of this cancer and had no typical risk factors associated with the disease. She did not smoke, was not overweight, and drank very little. But she did in fact have colon cancer -- shocking as it was -- and doctors believed her tumor had been growing for 18 months before detected. Fortunately, Barrett learned that her cancer had not spread. And she learned a few other things that she now shares as advice -- from her survivor point of view. These tips come from an article about Barrett in the August 1 Women's Day magazine.

• Barrett says, "know your body." And don't ignore or dismiss any changes that occur.
• Don't let embarrassment stop you from seeking help. Some symptoms can be difficult to discuss -- such as change in size and frequency of bowel movements, bloody stool, cramping, and bloating -- but still ask your doctor about them. Early detection is critical, she says.
• If diagnosed with colon cancer, learn as much as you can about the disease -- a well-informed patient has a better chance at a better outcome.

Barrett offers sound advice. And I think it is global advice. Knowing your body, discussing symptoms, and education after diagnosis are key for anyone. For everyone.

On July 20 in Portland, Oregon, Pearl Jam held a benefit concert for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to raise awareness for a disease no one likes to discuss. Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready was diagnosed with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis twenty years ago and has gone public with what he personally felt for many years was an embarrassing disease.

McCready, a spokesperson for the NW Chapter of CCFA, said, "Having struggled with Crohn's disease for more than 20 years and experienced first hand difficulties in getting a diagnosis and treatment, I want to help others learn about the disease, how it is affecting them and how to find ways to cope."

UCB, a leading global biopharmaceutical company that recently launched Crohns and Me, an information and resource website for people with Crohn's disease, joined with CCFA, in sponsoring the Pearl Jam Portland benefit concert.