These growths are small, sometimes mushroom-shaped lesions called polyps. Most screening strategies for colon cancer involve looking for and removing these polyps. Our strategies, therefore, are to find polyps when they're still small and haven't transformed into cancer and then to safely remove them from the patient. I find that the common misconceptions about colon cancer screening occur when discussing who should be screened and how they should be screened. I think the doctor is looking for signs of blood.
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.