I couldn’t help but shed a tear when I heard the news of Chadwick Boseman passing away at the young age of 43 years old, due to stage four of colon cancer. If you haven’t heard, Boseman was known for his role as King T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther,” movie. Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death among men and women combined in the United States. There will be an estimated 147,950 new cases of colorectal cancer in 2020. 1 in 20 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. 1 in 3 people is not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.
They say Colon cancer may be inherited. People with a family history of colon cancer have two to five times more risk of having colon cancer. Some people may inherit colon cancer syndromes that increase their risk of developing the disease to nearly 100%. In anyone who has multiple family members with colon cancer or relatives diagnosed with colon cancer at a young age, genetic testing should be considered.
People with colon cancer may feel completely healthy. There may be subtle signs and symptoms if a person has colon cancer including fatigue, weakness, weight loss, abdominal pain, and rectal bleeding. However, many people with colon cancer have no symptoms at all, especially during the early stages. This is why screening for colon cancer is extremely important.