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March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Colon cancer is the nation's second leading cause of cancer death, yet most colon cancers and most deaths from the disease are preventable through screening.

Medical experts recommend screening for all men and women over age 50. If you're at high risk, you should probably be screened before 50.

Several colon cancer screening methods are available, including conventional colonoscopy. Virtual Colonoscopy or CT Colonography is a much less invasive exam performed in just a few minutes on a computed tomography (CT) scanner. In addition, this test needs only a small, short tube, rather than the larger, longer tube that is placed with conventional colonoscopy. A Barium Enema may also be used to screen for colon cancer. Talk to your doctor about when you should begin screening and which screening test is best for you.

Remember—colon cancer may be prevented if small, benign polyps are removed before they become malignant and that the disease is highly treatable if detected early. Schedule your screening today.

For more information on colon cancer and screening tests, please see the following pages:

This page was reviewed on March 01, 2016

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