Nearly 10,000 Texans – a populationthat would fill up two–thirds of theSBC Center – will be diagnosed withcolon cancer this year. Those peoplewill be men and women; whites, blacksand Hispanics; rich and poor. In fact,according to the American CancerSociety, more than 3,000 of our Texasfriends and neighbors will die in 2008from colon cancer, despite the fact thatit is one of the most preventable andcurable forms of cancer.
The fact that this highly curable canceris the No.2 cancer killer in the UnitedStates indicates that many people arenot taking the simple preventive stepsthat could save their lives. People 50years of age and older who have not beenscreened for colon cancer, may be takingan unnecessary risk. Many individualswith a family history of colon cancer willneed to start screening at a younger age.Hispanics and African Americans shouldalso consider being tested earlier. And,despite the myth, colon cancer is notsimply a man’s disease – it strikes menand women equally.
Unfortunately, less than half thepopulation aged 50 and older has beenscreened. Early detection and treatmentof colon cancer can reduce the numberof deaths by up to 90 percent. Whenpolyps are detected and removed, livesare saved. In the time it takes yourpatient to get her hair done or her carwashed this spring, she could receivea painless and potentially life–savingcolonoscopy.
March is National Colorectal CancerAwareness Month. On behalf of theAmerican College of Gastroenterology,we ask you to take the first step inpreventing this deadly disease: talk toyour patients about colorectal cancerscreening.
