Colon cancer is a very common disease. Approximately 130,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, and 55,000 will die of this disease. We know, from several good studies, that our current screening tests do decrease mortality from this disease. Currently, there are several simple and safe screening tests available. Which tests we use depends on the risk category of the patient.
All tests are safe and available to most people in the country.
This is an important question. The current recommendations remind people that colon cancer occurs equally in men and women. Unfortunately, another misconception is that this is more of a male disease. In addition, physicians tend to screen men more often than women. There has even been one report that suggests that the disease occurs more often in women.