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.
Screening tests look for polyps so they can be removed, preventing cancer from developing.
They can also find existing cancers at earlier, more curable stages. Even so, more than 60 percent of Americans are not being tested. At age 50 a man or woman is considered at average risk for developing colon cancer. At increased risk are men and women who have a personal or immediate family history of benign colorectal polyps, colorectal cancer, ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, or ovarian, uterine, or breast cancer. Testing for colon cancer includes fecal occult blood test, screening sigmoidoscopy, full colonoscopy, and double contrast colon x-rays.