Colon Cancer in younger patients

Please see this link to the video and text interview by Patty Santos

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2020/09/02/mother-urges-people-to-test-for-colon-cancer-early-to-avoid-late-stage-diagnosis/

key points include:

- Colon cancer rates are slowly rising in younger patients and falling in elderly patients, likely due to improved rates of screening in older groups

- Symptoms are sometimes subtle until a cancer is advanced.  Watch out for rectal bleeding, abdominal pain that is not improving, weight loss, anemia, or a change in bowel habits

- Early detection is key to outcomes including need for surgery, chemotherapy, and survival

- Not all colonoscopies are equal in quality! Pick a doctor with a high ADR (adenoma detection rate), even a small difference can result in fewer missed lesions

To your health, JV