At a recent Iowa Department of Public Health training I learned that Poweshiek county has a higher rate of colorectal cancer. Read below and spread the word...
Preventive Screenings for Colorectal Cancer Could Save Thousands of Lives
Posted: 20 Feb 2012 07:52 AM PST
In 2011, 141,000 Americans were diagnosed with the colorectal cancer, and 49,000 patients died of the disease. But for every 10 percent increase in colon-cancer screenings, 1,900 deaths could be averted, doctors say.
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death for men and women, yet only 65 percent of adults get screened for the disease, the Washington Post reported Feb. 13. If caught in its early stages, the disease has a 90 percent five-year survival rate; once the cancer spreads to other organs, however, survival rates drop to just 10 percent.
People should talk to their doctors about the right to time to get screened for colorectal cancer, but most cases occur in adults age 50 and older, according the National Cancer Institute.
Lifestyle changes like eating less red meat and more fruits and vegetables and fiber, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight can also lower your lifetime colorectal-cancer risk, studies show.
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