Friday, March 21, 2014

Drop In Colon Cancer Rates Increases As More Elderly Americans Consider Colonoscopies

http://www.medicaldaily.com/decline-colon-cancer-rates-accelerates-more-older-americans-get-colonoscopies-271377
Drop In Colon Cancer Rates Increases As More Elderly Americans Consider Colonoscopies
Cancer of the colon continues to be the 3rd most common in the us - and the 3rd most fatal. Oncologists anticipate 136,000 new cases of cancer of the colon this season with 50,000 fatalities. At the same time, African-Americans continue steadily to experience a disproportionately greater threat of cancer of the colon, a representation definitely not of poorer usage of healthcare but of stronger genetic factors. In the U.S., blacks experience a 25 % higher risk than whites and a 50 percent higher risk than Asian-Americans.

By now, lots of people know that symptoms could be difficult to identify In the first stages of colorectal cancer. And as the symptoms don't often become apparent before disease has advanced beyond the original stages, ongoing screenings will always be encouraged. And today it would appear that ongoing screenings are seeing results -- in a large way.

Screening provides the possibilities to avoid colon cancer since it could identify pre-cancerous growths, called polyps, in the colon and rectum. Although most polyps won't become cancer, eliminating them can stop cancer from happening. And when colon cancer exists, routine screening escalates the likelihood of finding it sooner, when it's less difficult to treat.