Digestive Conditions We Treat

We treat many digestive conditions at our gastroenterology office in Lubbock, TX. These conditions may affect any part of the digestive system. The following organs make up your digestive system:

  • Mouth
  • Esophagus
  • Stomach
  • Small intestine
  • Large intestine
  • Anus
  • Liver
  • Pancreas
  • Gallbladder

Your digestive system breaks down food, absorbs nutrients, and moves waste through your system. Damage to any part of this process can lead to the development of digestive conditions. Receiving treatment from a gastroenterologist early on can improve your treatment outcomes.

If you want help managing your condition, you can schedule an appointment online or call our office at 806-696-4440.

Functional Gastroenterologist

I want my patients to be educated relative to their digestive condition, so they understand not just what I’m recommending but why I’m recommending it. My style of medicine is to help patients feel better without leaning exclusively on pills. This holistic approach uses the best of western medicine combined with natural therapeutic remedies. Together we’ll create a treatment plan built on evidence-based options to manage your condition.
-Sameer Islam, MD

Common Digestive Conditions

Celiac Disease

Colorectal
Cancer

Crohn’s Disease

Diverticulitis

Fatty Liver

GERD

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

SIBO

Ulcerative
Colitis

Can GI Disorders Be Prevented?

Making healthy lifestyle choices can prevent the development of many digestive conditions. If you have a diagnosed digestive condition, these lifestyle choices can often improve your symptoms.

Lifestyle choices that support a healthy gut include:

  • Eating a plant-based diet
  • Getting regular exercise
  • Reducing stress
  • Quitting smoking
  • Limiting alcohol consumption

But living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t erase your risk for certain diseases such as colon cancer. This is why colon cancer screening is crucial to prevent this disease.

Colon cancer screening should begin at age 45 for individuals at average risk. You are at average risk for colon cancer if you don’t have risk factors such as:

  • Family history of colorectal cancer or polyps
  • Personal history of colorectal cancer or polyps
  • Personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
  • Family history of hereditary colon cancer syndrome (familial adenomatous polyposis, Lynch syndrome)
  • Personal history of radiation to the abdomen or pelvis

If you have any of the above risk factors, you should receive a screening colonoscopy earlier. Other factors that increase your risk for colon cancer include:

  • Older age
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Type 2 diabetes

Colon cancer screening can save your life. Treatment for colon cancer is most successful when caught early. The survival rate for early-stage colon cancer is 90%. Unfortunately, the survival rate for colon cancer is only 14% once cancer spreads to distant parts of the body.

A colonoscopy is the gold standard for colon cancer screening. This is because it’s the only screening test that allows for the detection and removal of colon polyps. Removing colon polyps can prevent them from becoming cancerous.

Questions are normal, and we want to help you feel at ease.

Contact us at 806-696-4440 or