Colon Cancer Screening Saves Lives

During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, experts are urging Americans to get tested

SATURDAY, March. 11, 2006 (HealthDay News) -- March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society say's there's no better time to remind Americans that the disease is the third biggest cancer killer -- and largely preventable.

Colorectal malignancies account for 10 percent of all U.S. cancer cases, the society notes. About 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer this year, and 55,000 will die of the disease. That death toll could be cut in half if people followed the society's testing recommendations for colorectal cancer.

Testing is critical, because early colorectal cancer often has no symptoms. Testing is especially important for people aged 50 and older because they account for more than 90 percent of colorectal cancer cases.

When detected at an early stage, patients with colorectal tumors have a 90 percent survival rate. Unfortunately, low screening rates mean that just 39 percent of these cancers are diagnosed at an early stage.

"Many people 50 and older do not know they are at risk and that they need to be screened," Dr. Carolyn D. Runowicz, national volunteer president of the American Cancer Society, said in a prepared statement.

"If we can increase awareness and compliance to the level we've achieved with the Pap test and the mammogram, we will have a tremendous opportunity to save thousands of lives through prevention and early detection of colon cancer," she said.

As part of its efforts to increase colorectal cancer screening rates, the society will run a nationwide advertising campaign that emphasizes the need to start screening at age 50. The ads will encourage people to contact the society for a free colorectal cancer information kit, which includes a brochure that explains the benefits of screening and questions to ask your doctor. The kit also includes a DVD that explains the various colon cancer tests.

More information

For more on colorectal cancer screening, head to the American Cancer Society.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
www.healthday.com