|
"Am I at increased risk for colon or
rectal cancer?"
The risk of getting colon or rectal cancer
in your lifetime is 1 in 18. This risk seems to be decreasing slightly
as time passes. However, colon cancer is a risk for every individual.
The risk of males and females is about equal. Similarly, the risk
does not vary substantially amongst different ethnic groups in the
United States. The risk of this disease does vary around the world,
and it is felt that this is most likely due to difference in life
style and, to some degree, genetic pre-dispositions. When foreign
groups move to the United States, the life style and dietary changes
tend to make the risks similar to that of other ethnic groups in
the United States. The greatest risk for developing cancer is after
the age of 60. However, about 5% of colon and rectal cancers occur
under the age of 40. Twenty percent of patients who have develop
colon and rectal cancer will have a family history of colon cancer.
About 1% have an identified predisposition to colon cancer called
familial polyposis or chronic ulcerative colitis.
The chance that a person will die of a colon
and rectal cancer is about 1/3 the chance of getting the cancer.
Increasingly, as tumors are identified at an earlier stage and phase,
then we are able to cure these cancers. Colon cancer is the cause
of death in about 3% of individuals who die each year in the United
States.
It is the second leading cause of cancer death
in the United States.
|