March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – Be Proactive With Screenings
3/6/2025
TUCSON, AZ (March 6, 2025) – Colorectal cancer (cancer of the large intestine and lower part of the digestive system) caused about 53,000 deaths in America in 2024. It is a leading cause of all cancer-related deaths nationwide, for both men and women.
Colorectal cancer is increasingly more common in younger adults. Since 2011, the incidence of this disease has increased by 2 percent in people ages 50 to 54 – and it has also increased in those younger than 50.
The American Cancer Society recommends a routine colonoscopy screening beginning at age 45 for those at average risk. If you are at increased risk due to a family history of colon cancer or other reasons, your primary care provider may recommend your first screening earlier – typically, 10 years before the age your relative (usually a parent, but not always) was when first diagnosed.
“Prevention is the best treatment,” says Shane Svoboda, M.D., a colorectal and general surgeon at Northwest Medical Center. “A screening colonoscopy allows us to see inside the colon and rectum and identify any growths, also called polyps. While polyps are common – and usually harmless in adults – most colorectal cancer begins as a polyp. That’s why early detection, removal, and biopsy are so important.”
Screenings dramatically increase the survival rate of colorectal cancer in people of all ages. If it is found before it has spread to other areas of the body, the five-year survival rate is about 90 percent. If not caught before then, the survival rate dips to about 14 percent.
Your risk level for colon cancer varies according to your age, sex and ethnic background, as well as your overall health and lifestyle. Factors that affect your risk level include:
- Advancing age (over age 50)
- Being male
- Being African American
- Having family or personal history of polyps or colorectal cancer
- Eating a high-fat diet, drinking too much alcohol, and tobacco use
- Having diabetes, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or other digestive disease
Your insurance will often completely cover a colonoscopy screening as a “wellness” test – and most plans also cover the procedure as a follow-up test or diagnostic tool.
To learn more about colonoscopy with a Northwest Healthcare provider, visit https://www.nwalliedphysicians.com/gastro.
Northwest Healthcare offers Live Healthy, a free e-newsletter with a monthly dose of health and wellness inspiration sent directly to your inbox. Sign up at healthiertucson.com/enewsletter-sign-up.
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