Charleston Internal Medicine

March is nationally recognized as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Colorectal Cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second most common cause of cancer related to deaths in both men and women. Colon cancer generally presents with no symptoms early on in the disease process, which is when treatment is most effective. Screening colonoscopies should be done on individuals at the age of 50 in the absence of family history or other risk factors for colon cancer. People with a higher risk of colon cancer (i.e. family history of colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.) should have colonoscopies performed at a younger age. After the initial colonoscopy, a repeat colonoscopy is recommended anywhere from 1-10 years later depending on the colonoscopy results and the reason for having the colonoscopy. With screening colonoscopies, colon cancer can be found early and treated effectively or even prevented by removing pre-cancerous lesions. Colonoscopies should also be considered in the case of blood in the stool, a change in bowel habits, abdominal pain, etc. if you are 50 or older, have a family hisotry of colon cancer, have a personal history of intestinal disease, have new gastrointestional symptoms or a change in bowel habits, then you should discuss have a colonoscopy with your health care provider.