Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the United States, in both men and women. It is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths when statistics for men and women are combined. There are about 150,000 new cases of colon and rectal cancer every year.
Case numbers have been dropping over the past 35 years because more people are getting screened for the disease. When polyps are found early, they can be removed before they turn into cancer.