What Is Colorectal Cancer?
Also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, it usually begins as small, benign (noncancerous) clumps of cells called polyps that form on the inside of the colon (large intestine).
Polyps may be small and produce few, if any, symptoms during the early stages of the disease. Because of this, USPSTF (US Preventive Services Task Force) guidelines recommend screening tests begin no later than age 50.
Causes of Colorectal Cancer
The exact cause of colorectal cancer is not known, but the following is a list of contributing factors that are known to be strongly linked to the disease, including but not limited to…
Risk Factors:
- Alcohol Abuse / Consumption
- To reduce your risk, the American Cancer Society recommends limiting alcohol to no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 for men. A drink is either of the following:
- 12 ounces of beer
- 5 ounces of wine
- 1.5 ounces of liquor
- To reduce your risk, the American Cancer Society recommends limiting alcohol to no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 for men. A drink is either of the following:
- Smoking
- Physical Inactivity
- Obesity
- Diet
- Eating lots of red meats (i.e. beef, pork, lamb or liver) and processed meats (i.e. hot dogs & luncheon meats) raises one’s risk of getting colorectal cancer
- Personal History of Colorectal Polyps
- Personal History of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
- Heredity / Family History
- Race / Ethnicity
- African Americans have the highest incidence and mortality rates of all racial groups in the US (for reasons unknown).
- Jews of Eastern European descent (Ashkenazi Jews) have one of the highest risks of any ethnic group in the world.
- Having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D)