Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers, with one out of every 20 people getting colon cancer during their lifetime. Each year, more than 130,000 new cases are diagnosed, and more than 46,000 people die from colorectal cancer-related causes. Because of its high incidence, it is not uncommon to see more than one individual in a family with colon cancer. Individuals with FCC are usually diagnosed with colon cancer in their 50's and 60's. Individuals with FAP develop multiple colon polyps at a young age, have a strong family history of colon cancer, and usually all go on to develop colon cancer.
Genes are our bodies' instructions on how to develop and how to function.
Genes are located on the structures in the cells of our body called chromosomes. Chromosomes come in pairs, because we get one copy of each chromosome from our mother and the other copy from our father. We usually have 23 pairs, or 46 chromosomes in each cell. Since we have two copies of each chromosome, we also have two copies of the genes on those chromosomes. When this gene functions correctly, substances are made which prevent our bodies' cells from growing and dividing in an uncontrolled way.