March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Waterloo Wellington Regional Cancer Program with Cancer Care Ontario, is reminding Waterloo Wellington residents to get checked with a safe and painless take-home test.
When caught early, nine out of 10 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer can be cured.
Colorectal cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Ontario and the second most common cause of cancer deaths.
It is estimated that in 2016, approximately 9,900 Ontarians were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and approximately 3,200 Ontarians died from the disease. Despite this fact, many people are not getting checked – particularly men.
“In Waterloo Wellington region, approximately 42% of screen-eligible individuals are overdue for screening,” said Dr. Jonathan Love, regional colorectal Screening lead with the Waterloo Wellington Regional Cancer Program.
Cancer Care Ontario recommends that men and women at average risk between the ages of 50 and 74 get checked for colorectal cancer with a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every two years.
The FOBT is a safe and painless cancer screening test that checks a person’s stool (poop) for tiny drops of blood that we cannot see, which could be caused by colorectal cancer.
An abnormal FOBT result does not necessarily mean that a person has colorectal cancer, but more testing with a colonoscopy is needed to find out why there is blood in their stool.
Another option for people at average risk for colorectal cancer is to screen the colon with a procedure called flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS). A specially-trained registered nurse or physician checks the lining of the rectum and lower third of the colon for growths, called polyps, using a scope.
While it is often thought that colorectal cancer is more common in people over 50, recently there has been an increased prevelance of in young adults.
A recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed that the number young adults being diagnosed with colorectal cancer is on the rise in the U.S.
“After decreasing in the previous decade, colon cancer incidence rates increased by 1 to 2.4% annually since the mid-1980s in adults age 20 to 39 years and by 0.5% to 1.3% since the mid-1990s in adults age 40 to 54 years; rectal cancer incidence rates have been increasing longer and faster (eg, 3.2% annually from 1974–2013 in adults age 20–29 years),” the report states.
Colorectal cancer, when caught early can be 90% curable.
For more information on screening visit cancercare.on.ca/colon.
