Caring for your colon with valor

Formerly known as proctology, the field of colorectal care deals with disorders of the large intestine, especially the colon. Dr. Doug Matthews has been practicing in Chico for 13 years and currently works as a colorectal surgical oncologist at Valor Oncology. “Probably the two things that I spend the majority of my time doing are colonoscopies to either diagnose or prevent colon cancers, and then surgeries to remove colon or rectal cancers,” Dr. Matthews says. “That’s how I fit into the oncology world.”

According to Dr. Matthews, men and women are both equally at risk for developing colon cancer, which is why it’s important for everyone to get regular colonoscopies. This procedure is done to look for pre-cancerous polyps as well as to screen for colon cancer. Unlike with other cancers, particularly ones of the skin and mouth, symptoms of colon cancer can be so minimal as to go unnoticed. “Until a colon cancer is in its later stages, people may not notice a little blood in their stool or a small change in their bowel habits,” Dr Matthews says. “But by the time they start having abdominal pain, weight loss, or major changes in how they go to the bathroom, typically that’s a much later, more advanced cancer.” It is recommended that adults have screenings every 10 years, though some may need more frequent monitoring, especially if they come from a family with a history of colon cancer or polyps.

Typically, one thinks of a colonoscopy as something only older adults are subject to, but that is changing, as Dr. Matthews points out. “We’ve been finding that in the general population we’ve seen some migration of how early we’re starting to find colon cancers,” he said. “Within the past 5 years, the American Cancer Society has lowered its initial age from 50 years to 45 years for their first recommended screening colonoscopy.” For people at higher risk due to family history or background, screenings could be recommended as early as age 35.

So, how does one keep one’s colon healthy? Doctor Matthews recommends a diet high in raw, crunchy, fibrous foods like fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts while low in red meat, especially red meat cooked at high temperatures. It’s also important to eat little to no preserved foods like bacon and ham. Keeping one’s weight healthy and incorporating regular exercise into one’s daily routine is also helpful.

Doctor Matthews finds his own recreation and regular exercise as a volunteer firefighter with Cal Fire. He’s been with the organization on and off since high school, when he was looking for a summer job and ended up working out of the dispatch center in Oroville. After medical school and the attendant years of residency and fellowship, he returned to Northern California and asked Cal Fire about joining up as a volunteer. “I went back through their training program and have been involved in some of the major fires we’ve had since that time, like the Camp Fire and the Dixie Fire,” he said.

Giving back to the community is important to Dr. Matthews, which is how his day job as a colorectal surgeon and his volunteer work at Cal Fire dovetail. “At Valor, we pride ourselves on personalizing the care and actually knowing the patients as people,” Dr. Matthews says. “There are a good number of patients that are people I’ve become friends with and that I remain friends with as we fix their problems.”

Dr. Doug Matthews is a colorectal surgeon at Valor Oncology. He can be reached by calling (530) 691-5920.