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American Cancer Society urges earlier testing for colon cancer

A recent study reports that people should start being tested for colon cancer at 45, instead of 50.

The American Cancer Society says people are waiting too long to be tested for colorectal cancer. It is one of the most common and deadliest cancers, but doctors say it does not have to be.

“As a practitioner, we’ve been seeing colon cancer in younger and younger people over the last 10 or 15 years,” said Dr. John Tyler Baber, a gastroenterologist for CHI St. Vincent.

The American Cancer Society released a new recommendation Wednesday, May 30, that doctors begin regularly screening patients for colorectal cancer at age 45 instead of age 50. In its report, it found that colon cancer is up more than 50 percent in people under 50.

Dr. Baber said he was not surprised it would issue the new guidelines.

“If we catch the cancer in its early stages,” he explained, “the cure rate is practically 90 percent, but if we wait until the cancer has spread, the cure rate drops to 30-40 percent, or even less, depending on how far the cancer has spread.”

The Centers for Disease Control reports that 140,000 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2014, the most recent year for which data exist. More than 51,000 people died from it that year, as well, making it the third-most common and deadliest form of cancer.

Dr. Baber claimed testing can stop it from forming in many people. “We hope to find pre-malignant polyps which have not even become cancerous yet,” he said. “And, by removing those, we prevent colon cancer.”

Many researchers believe that diet and exercise are linked to colon cancer, but Dr. Baber said nobody knows yet why it is showing up more frequently in younger patients.

“We’re finding people that are marathon runners, people that are vegetarians, people that do everything right, and they’re still being diagnosed as having colon cancer in their 40’s,” he said. “So there may be some other factors that we don’t understand.”

Testing people at age 45 is just a recommendation from one group, but Dr. Baber believes it will quickly become standard practice because of the respect the American Cancer Society has from the medical community.

“I think it’s a win-win situation for everyone if they can get diagnosed early,” he said. “The insurance companies save money. People are diagnosed earlier and they’re cured, rather than having to undergo chemotherapy or surgery.”

There are several different ways to check for colorectal cancer, from colonoscopies that can be performed every 10 years for healthy patients, to annual stool sample tests.

“We think probably the most accurate way is with the colonoscopy,” Dr. Baber explained. “Because we can detect very, very small polyps and remove them during the procedure.”

He acknowledged that many patients are uneasy about getting colonoscopies, but since they are sedated during the procedure, they do not feel anything, and usually say afterward they are glad they did it.

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