Colon Cancer - Why Should You Get Screened?

Colon Can­cer
Colon Can­cer is the third most com­mon­ly diag­nosed can­cer in men and women. Last year approx­i­mate­ly 140,000 Amer­i­cans were diag­nosed with col­orec­tal can­cer and over 50,000 of those indi­vid­u­als died from their colon can­cer. Colon Can­cer does not dis­crim­i­nate; rather it affects men and women of all races. It is a silent killer…it often has no symp­toms until it is in a late in an incur­able stage.

Screen­ing
When caught ear­ly, Colon Can­cer is over 90 per­cent cur­able. In ear­ly stages, it can be detect­ed and treat­ed through a rel­a­tive­ly easy and safe pro­ce­dure called a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is a test that allows your gas­troen­terol­o­gist or sur­geon to look inside your colon and rec­tum in order to detect col­orec­tal polyps, or can­cer.

90 per­cent of Colon Can­cer occurs in peo­ple ages 45 years old and over and there­fore a colonoscopy is rec­om­mend­ed for any per­son over the age of 45.

Peo­ple who should be screened before the age of 45 include:

• Any­one with a fam­i­ly his­to­ry of colon cancer
• Any­one with wor­ri­some symp­toms such as change in stools, abdom­i­nal pain and/​or blood in stools

Your physi­cian will help deter­mine if and when a colonoscopy is appro­pri­ate for you.

Colono­scopies save lives. We encour­age you to con­tact your pri­ma­ry care doc­tor if you have any wor­ri­some symp­toms, and/​or to dis­cuss the sched­ul­ing of your colonoscopy if 45 or older.