March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month: Getting Screened Could Save Your Life

 

Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the US, but many colon cancers can be prevented with regular testing. March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – no better time to learn the facts about colon cancer and get tested. It could save your life.

The American Cancer Society recommends – if you are 45 or older – that you talk with your doctor about colon cancer screening. Only about 60% of adults of screening age are up-to-date on their colon cancer screening, and many have never been screened at all.

Screening can find colon cancer early, before symptoms develop, when it’s easier to treat and survival rates are more favorable. Some of the tests can help doctors find growths called polyps that can be removed before they turn into cancer.

What’s encouraging is that fewer people have been dying from colon cancer over the past few decades. That’s due partly to improvements in screening. However, more than 50,000 deaths from colon cancer are expected this year, accounting for 9% of all cancer deaths.

Call Randolph Health Gastroenterology today at 336-625-0305 to schedule an appointment for a Colon Cancer Screening.

The staff at Randolph Health Gastroenterology recently celebrated Colon Cancer Awareness Month in the office.