March 2024 – Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, behind only lung cancer. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 153,020 people in the United States received a diagnosis colon or rectal cancer in 2023. Approximately 52,550 died of it.

Colorectal cancer awareness is important because many cases of cancer of the colon or rectum are preventable. Screening by colonoscopy can prevent this cancer because precancerous polyps found during the procedure can be removed at the same time. Furthermore, colonoscopy can also detect the cancer at early stages, when treatment is more likely to be successful.

The five-year relative survival rate for cancer localized to the colon or rectum is 90.9 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. The survival rate drops significantly as the cancer spreads beyond those organs.