This cancer is 90 percent curable when discovered early through screening tests and before symptoms appear. It almost always starts in non-cancerous growths that develop in the lining of the colon or rectum. These growths are called polyps, and they can become cancerous, but if they are found early enough through screening tests and removed quickly the cancer can easily be stopped. Scientific research has shown that up to 90 percent of colon cancers can be prevented by just finding and removing polyps before they become cancerous and adopting important lifestyle changes. In March 2001, Shore Health System is celebrating National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by educating the public about colorectal cancer, and how to reduce risk factors.
Colon cancer is the second leading cancer killer.
Only lung cancer kills more. In both men and women it is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer. Each year colon cancer kills more than 56,300 men and women. That is more than prostate cancer in men and more than breast cancer in women. A screening test should be done even if a person is having no problems, if there are no symptoms, and if every thing is working fine.