Today, approximately 1.3% of US adults (3 million people) have Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, which inflames the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and disrupts your body's ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and healthily eliminate waste. Yet did you know that Crohn's disease, colitis and other diseases could impact so many other things in the gut? Ever wonder if it could increase your risk of colon cancer? This is the subject of our newest podcast episode, Gut-Wrenching: Crohn's, Colitis and More. So, we sat down with two senior gastroenterologists from Hadassah Medical Center.
Gastroenterologist Dr. Ari Benson and Pediatric Gastroenterologist Dr. Zev Davidovics talk about Crohn's and colitis symptoms, which can include intense abdominal pain, fatigue, severe diarrhea, weight loss and malnutrition. According to experts, Crohn's disease is two to four times more prevalent among people of Ashkenazic ancestry than non-Jewish European ancestry.
As we learn in the podcast, no specific gene has been discovered that causes Crohn's and colitis, though there is thought to be a familial component and possible relations to auto-immunity, diet and bacterial makeup of the intestines.
"Crohn's disease is thought to be lifelong," explains Dr. Davidovics. "Though there are medications that work well to have our children and adults in clinical remission."
Listeners will also hear: How can you spot if you have Crohn's disease? What new treatments are available to manage the disease? What's the difference between irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease? How do these diseases tie to colon cancer? And much, much more.
- Teens From All Ethnicities Share Stories of Living With Crohn's Disease at Hadassah Gathering
- From Cancer to Crohn, Israel Pushes Precision Medicine to the Next Level
"Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine" is a production of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America. Hadassah enhances the health of people around the world through medical education, care and research innovations at the Hadassah Medical Organization. For more information on the latest advances in medicine please head over to hadassah.org.
Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. If you haven't already, please leave us a review. It only takes a minute and when you do it helps others discover "Hadassah on Call."
The show is hosted by Maayan Hoffman and produced by the team at the Hadassah offices in both New York and Israel.
This episode includes promotions for:
Our recent episode with Dr. Michal Lotem
If you are enjoying this episode, you’ll want to check out our previous episode with Professor Michal Lotem, head of the Center for Melanoma and Cancer Immunotherapy at Hadassah.
She talks about how we can prevent skin cancer, how to recognize it and new and innovative ways to treat the disease.
You can find that episode of "Hadassah On Call" on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcast. Or on the web at hadassah.org/hadassahoncall.
18 American Zionist Women You Should Know
A celebrity. An entrepreneur. An award-winning producer. They're all on our list.
Have you checked out our website lately? We just launched 18 American Zionist Women You Should Know, Hadassah’s list of diverse female visionaries who are building bridges, making an impact and shaping the future of Zionism. As a proud Zionist organization and the largest Jewish women’s organization in the United States, we couldn’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate Hadassah & Israel — Together at 75 than by spotlighting these women and amplifying their voices.
Read about the Hadassah18 on our website at go.hadassah.org/18z and be sure to save the date for Hadassah's first Zionist Symposium ... Inspire Zionism: Tech, Trailblazers and Tattoos on October 25 and 26. Registration opens in mid-July!
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