March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

by dr.kotula on March 23, 2012

Here are some startling statistics from the American Cancer Society regarding colorectal cancer for 2012:

Not counting skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women in the United States.

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, which is good reason to discuss risks and the importance of being screened.

What?s your risk for developing colorectal cancer?
About 1 in 20.

?As you age

The risk for colorectal cancer increases with a person?s age. According to the Centers for Disease Control more than 90 percent of colorectal cancers occur in those 50 and older.

Reduce your risk

It is highly recommend that when a person reaches the age of 50 they should get screened for colorectal cancer. Why?

• When screened, precancerous polyps can be detected and removed before becoming cancerous. This is why screening is important.
• Screening also allows for cancer to be caught early, which means treatment can also begin earlier.

Screening options for colorectal cancer can include:
??? ?Colonoscopy
??? ?High-sensitivity fecal occult blood test (FOBT) ? or stool test
??? ?Flexible sigmoidoscopy with high-sensitivity FOBT

Symptoms

Screening is important because polyps or colorectal cancer don?t always present symptoms early on. Having said that, symptoms can include:

• Blood in or on the stool (bowl movement)
• Aches, cramps or stomach pain that doesn?t go away
• Unexplained weight loss

These symptoms can be attributed to other health issues as well, so certainly if you are experiencing any of these issues you need to speak with your physician.

Be safe and be certain. If you are 50 or older get screened, if you haven?t already. A simply screening can make all the difference. Certainly if any of the issues above are present, then you must speak to your physician.

Other resources:

Screen for Life
Questions to ask your doctor

?

Tagged as: cancerous, colonoscopy, colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer awareness month, Dr. Rudy Kotula, polyps, screening

Source: http://id.mhsblogs.com/blogs/2012/03/23/march-is-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month/

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