Demolishing colon cancer myths

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

There is a need for greater awareness about colon cancer, say University of Michigan experts.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the USA. But screening for colon cancer is said to prevent more deaths than does screening for breast and prostate cancer. Experts at the University of Michigan therefore want to raise awareness about the disease and persuade more people to attend for screening.

There are various myths about colon cancer. For example, it is not a 'white man's' disease - it affects men and women equally and people of all races can get colon cancer. Colonoscopy is not as unpleasant or inconvenient as you may think - because patients are sedated and can resume normal activities on the following day. Also, colonoscopy can do more than screening - it can also find and remove polyps and small cancers at the same time. Colon cancer is not a death sentence, say the Michigan experts. If it is caught early, it has a 95 per cent survival rate. More advanced disease tends to spread to the liver and then the survival rate is only nine per cent. But even here, treatments are improving - at the University of Michigan they are developing methods of shrinking liver tumors which is improving survival. Another myth is that you always have to have a colostomy bag after colon surgery. This is not so, because surgical techniques have improved, so most patients don't need one. Research is finding new ways of preventing and treating colon cancer. You can do your bit, say the experts, by attending for your colon screening, beginning at age 50.

Source
University of Michigan Health System 24th February 2007

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