Black believed she was fit and well until 22 months ago, when a bout of acute abdominal pain led doctors to diagnose colon cancer. She is particularly keen to get the word out to relatives of people with colon cancer, to warn them that statistics show that 25 per cent of people who develop colon cancer have a relative who had it, too. Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed forms of the disease among Canadian men and women . It was estimated that 17,000 people were diagnosed with colorectal cancer last year and 6,500 died of the disease. The at-risk population is considered to be anyone over 50.
Early detection is crucial.
It is believed that 95 per cent of colon cancers could be cured if they were caught early enough. Despite that, it remains a disease many people are loath to speak about or to seek testing for. The Sittlers want to help change that. They know from sad experience that telling a doctor about blood in stool, for instance, might lead to early diagnosis and improved chances of survival. Wendy Sittler, now 52, thought hemorrhoids were responsible for the traces of blood in her bowel movements, so she didn't mention them to her doctor, her husband said.