Question: What's my risk of developing colon cancer?
Most people have about a six percent chance of developing colon cancer at some point in their lives. Some things, like a personal or family history of cancer, may increase your risk. Other things, like following colon cancer screening guidelines, decrease your risk.
Answer: Adhering to colon cancer screening guidelines is one of the best ways to lower your risk of developing colon cancer. Polyps are responsible for most colon cancer and adequate screening provides an opportunity to get rid of those polyps before they become cancerous.
Conversely, one of the best ways to increase your risk is to refuse screening. A six percent chance may not seem like much, but it's one out of 17 people. That's like someone walking into a small classroom and selecting one of the students to get cancer. That scenario would have to occur every four minutes to reach the number of people diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year.
To learn more about risk factors for colon cancer, please read 15 Causes of Colon Cancer. If you'd like to learn more about ways to decrease your risk, please read Top 10 Colon Cancer Prevention Tips.
Related Questions:
- Do polyps increase colon cancer risk?
- Does a family history of colon cancer increase my risk?
- Can inflammatory bowel disease cause colon cancer?
- Bhatti, Asahn. 2002 Oncology Program Annual Report. Rice Hospital. 29 Aug. 2006 [http://www.ricehospital.com/services/wcc_rpt2002.htm].
- CRC Facts & Figures. Colon Cancer Alliance. 29 Aug. 2006 [http://www.ccalliance.org/about/disease/crcfacts.html].
- Read, T. and Kodner, I. "Colorectal Cancer: Risk Factors and Recommendations for Early Detection." American Family Physician 59.11 (Jun. 1999). 29 Aug. 2006 [http://www.aafp.org/afp/990600ap/3083.html].
