Tag Archives: National Colon Cancer Month

Exercise Your Way to a Lower Colon Cancer Risk

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It’s no secret that exercise reduces your risk of heart and respiratory diseases.  But did you know that running, walking, playing tennis, swimming or whatever exercise you prefer can help prevent colon cancer?

Numerous studies indicate that regular exercise can reduce your risk of colon cancer by as much as 40 per cent.  One study at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston included the collection of data from more than 150,000 men and women over a period of three decades.  Researchers found that cancer of the colon or rectum was far less common among people who exercised for 30 minutes several times a week, compared to those who led a sedentary lifestyle.

Another study, this one at the University of Vermont, also concluded that exercise lowers the risk of colon cancer.  Researchers studied 17,000 middle age men and found that those who exercise regularly and kept their weight down were 38 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with the disease.

It’s unclear why exercise lowers the risk of colon cancer, but these two studies and many others indicate the connection is unmistakable.  Research also shows that cancer patients who exercise regularly are less likely to die from several types of the disease.

As we come to the end of March, designated as Colon Cancer Awareness Month, it’s vital to remember that nothing can eliminate the risk of coming down with the disease.  So, even if you live a physically active lifestyle, you shouldn’t run away from colonoscopies and other forms of colon cancer screenings.  They can lead to prevention and early detection of the disease and make it much more likely that your healthy lifestyle will continue for many years to come.

Beating Colon Cancer

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Colon Cancer will kill an estimated 50,000 Americans in 2015.  That sad prediction comes from the American Cancer Society.  It is especially tragic because early screening for the disease would have saved the lives of many of those who will lose their battle against Colon Cancer this year.

March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month.  We need to focus on this disease because it is one of those cancers that can often be prevented.  A colonoscopy can find precancerous polyps in the colon or rectum.  The polyps are then removed before they develop into cancer.  If the screening leads to the discovery of colon cancer in its early stage, treatment often leads to a cure.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 90 per cent of patients whose colon cancers are found and treated early are still alive five years later.

Who should get screened for Colon Cancer?  In general, men and women should get a colonoscopy at the age of 50.  Patients with certain medical issues or family history of the disease need to be screened earlier.  The CDC currently recommends colonoscopies or other screenings at regular intervals until the age of 75.  Your doctor may advise screening beyond 75, depending on your medical history.

Thanks to increased screening, the American Cancer Society says the number of Colon Cancer deaths in the United States has been declining for two decades.  Even so, an estimated 130,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed this year.  Screening will lead to the discovery of some of those cases in time for the patient’s life to be saved.  Tragically, many other patients who had never been screened will have no such reprieve.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  Have you had your colonoscopy yet?