In honor of March’s Colon Cancer Month, researcher Alison Clark shares a few facts for us to think about…

1) Bad
news: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is estimated to be the third most commonly diagnosed and cause of
cancer death in the U.S. for both men and women this year. That’s one in 20 folks
will be diagnosed in their lifetime.

2) There
are multiple factors that determine your risk of getting colon cancer such as genetics,
the types of food you eat, physical activity, and tobacco and alcohol
consumption

3) It’s not
just an old person disease, young people are susceptible it too. Studies have
shown that rates of colon cancer for the young population (under 50) have risen.

4) Good
news: Colon cancer incidence rates have dropped 30 percent for the last 10 years in the US due
to increased screening practices for the disease. If detected early, survival rates are
relatively high. In fact, an estimated 60 percent of deaths from colon cancer can be avoided if
caught early.

5) There
are more than one million colon cancer survivors in the U.S.

If you would like to learn more about Alison’s research, click here.

References:

http://www.cityofhope.org/blog/colorectal-cancer-facts

http://fightcolorectalcancer.org/prevent-it/facts-about-colorectal-cancer/

Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A
(2016) Cancer Statistics, 2016.
CA Cancer
J Clin 2016; 7-30