You can prevent colon cancer

  • Published
  • By Maj. Donna Tew
  • Health Care Integrator
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Colorectal cancer is cancer that occurs in the colon or rectum. Sometimes it is called colon cancer, for short. 

Colorectal cancer affects both men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people aged 50 years or older. For men, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer after prostate and lung cancers. For women, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer after breast and lung cancers. 

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn't have to be. If everybody aged 50 or older had regular screening tests, as many as 60 percent of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented. 

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. Screening can find precancerous polyps --abnormal growths in the colon or rectum -- so that they can be removed before turning into cancer. Screening also helps find colorectal cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure. 

Recommended screening tests and intervals are: 

· Fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which checks for hidden blood in three consecutive stool samples, should be administered every year. 

· Flexible sigmoidoscopy, where physicians use a flexible, lighted tube (sigmoidoscope) to inspect visually the interior walls of the rectum and part of the colon, should be administered every five years. 

· Double-contrast barium enema, a test that uses a series of X-rays of the colon and rectum (taken after the patient is given an enema containing barium dye followed by an injection of air in the lower bowel), should be administered every five years. 

· Colonoscopy, where physicians use a flexible, lighted tube (colonoscope) to inspect visually the interior walls of the rectum and the entire colon, should be administered every 10 years. During this procedure, samples of tissue may be collected for closer examination, or polyps may be removed. Colonoscopies can be used as screening tests or as follow-up diagnostic tools when the results of another screening test are positive. 

If you are aged 50 or older, or think you may be at higher than average risk for colorectal cancer, speak with your doctor about getting screened.