Colon Cancer Screening

Doctors recommend getting a baseline test done at age 50 but only 30 percent of us actually follow through. A look at why early detection is so important in March's Health Check report.

Carol Becker's health is no game. She's big on preventive screenings, so at age 50 she had the recommended colonoscopy.

Carol says, "I had no symptoms whatsoever, just a routine screening. You know like you do a pap smear or mammogram to say, hey, I don't have cancer, leave me alone. But that's not what happened when I woke up."

Dr. Stephan Thome found colon cancer.

Patients often have no symptoms by the time the cancer shows up on an x-ray.

Carol had one lesion but the cancer had already spread into the lymph nodes.

Dr. Thome says, "The very first screen gives you the most information and the highest chance of early detection and a cure. If you have no polyps on the first screen, great. But if you find something, you know about it, especially cancer, there's a much greater chance of being cured."

After surgery and nine months of chemotherapy, Carol is cancer-free. Treatment left her with some numbness in her hands and feet but instead of dwelling on discomfort, this wife, mother, and Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force focuses on what she can do.

She says, "I can play tennis. I can still bowl. I can still work, and run."

There are certain factors that put us more at risk for colon cancer:

If you're overweight or eat a high-fat, low fiber diet

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