Yes we do! March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and in the U.S. this year more than 143,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and more than 50,000 people will lose their lives to it. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths overall in the country. However, colorectal cancer also is one of the most preventable and most easily treated cancers. If it is found at an early stage, usually the only treatment needed is surgery without chemotherapy. Once the colorectal cancer has been surgically removed at an early stage, it is considered cured and there is a greater than 90 percent five-year survival rate.
Some people believe colorectal cancer is a cancer found mostly in older men. Not so. It is an equal opportunity disease. Colorectal cancer is diagnosed at an almost equal rate between men and women. For women in the U.S., it is the third most common cause of cancer deaths after lung and breast. Yet in a survey conducted by the American Cancer Society, it was discovered that 54 percent of women expressed concern about their risk for breast cancer, while only 10 percent expressed concern about their risk for colorectal cancer.
Another factor that is important to understand is the increasing incidence and deaths from colorectal cancer among African Americans. Both African American men and women have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer at a younger age than any other race in the U.S. In response to these statistics, the American College of Gastroenterology recommends screening start at the age of 45, rather than 50.
Although the total number of colorectal cancers diagnosed each year is decreasing due to increased prevention and screening through colonoscopies, the number of new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed each year in African Americans has not decreased. About 50 percent of people in the US older than the age of 50 have regular screening colonoscopies. However, according to an article published by Black Women?s Health Imperative, 70 percent of black women over the age of 45 are not getting screened for colorectal cancer.
Additionally, if you have a first degree relative (parent, sibling or child) with a history of colorectal cancer, you should start having screening colonoscopies at age 40 or 10 years before the age at which they were diagnosed. So if your first degree relative was diagnosed at age 45, you should start having screening colonoscopies at age 35.
Also, there is a genetic type of colorectal cancer called Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch Syndrome. If a woman carries the gene for this genetic colorectal cancer, they also have up to a 70 percent chance of also being diagnosed with endometrial cancer in their lifetime. Often a woman carrying the gene for Lynch Syndrome is diagnosed with endometrial cancer before colorectal cancer and before the age of 50. So for any woman diagnosed with endometrial cancer before the age of 50, it is recommended she also be screened for colorectal cancer and have genetic testing.
Discussing the importance of colorectal cancer prevention and getting colonoscopies does not usually earn me the reputation of being a patient?s favorite nurse. However, by having a colonoscopy, not only can we find cancer early and cure it, but we can also find polyps in your colon and remove them before they become cancerous. So, even though colorectal cancer may not be one of your favorite subjects to discuss, it could be a life-saving subject for you or someone you know.
Summa Health System
Get the colonoscopy that could save your life! To schedule a colonoscopy with Summa, call 888-720-5318 or visit www.summahealth.org/colon to learn more.
Source: http://www.summaflourish.org/2012/03/colorectal-cancer-do-we-have-to-talk-about-that-one/
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