Colon health may be at the bottom of your list of conversation topics, but it should be top of mind.

"Like any cancer, early detection of colon cancer is the best treatment," says Tamer Atassi, MD, a board certified gastroenterologist who treats patients at Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital. "That's why screening is so important."

Colon health. It's a subject you'd rather ignore, but giving it some thought might save your life. Despite a more than 90 percent cure rate when caught early, colorectal cancer remains the nation's second-leading cause of cancer deaths. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 130,000 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer this year and more than 56,000 will die from it.

Got you thinking? Here's what you need to know.

Who's at Risk?
While everyone is at risk for colon cancer, certain factors can make you more susceptible including:

• Age. The older you get, the higher your risk.
• A family history of colorectal cancer
• A personal history of other cancers
• Polyps. About 25 percent of the population develops these small, benign tumors, which are considered a form of pre-cancer.
• Colitis, inflammatory bowel disease or Crohn's disease
• Inherited conditions, such as familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary nonpolyposis colon

If you have any of these risk factors, consult your physician for a screening schedule.

Testing Tips
If you have no risk factors, the ACS recommends one of these screening schedules beginning at age 50:

• yearly fecal occult blood test
• flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years
• barium enema every five years
• colonoscopy every 10 years

Colonoscopy is the most effective screening for colorectal cancer. After bowel preparation with laxatives, the patient is sedated and a long, flexible tube with a video camera is inserted into the colon. Viewing the colon on a video screen, the physician can perform biopsies of abnormalities and remove polyps.

For more information, or to find a physician, call us at 866-533-7968.