Today's Most Popular Video
Sep 5, 2008 10:56 pm US/Central
Colon Cancer As Preventable As It Is Deadly
(WCCO)
-
-
Dr. Rank said only 50 to 60 percent of people who should get the colorectal cancer screening do.
CBS
Colon cancer is a disease that's touched the WCCO family too much this year.
First, Bill Carlson lost his battle with prostate cancer. Then Bob Rainey became one of the 50,000 people to die of colorectal cancer this year. He was only 46.
Colon cancer is the number two cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn't have to be that way. It's also one of the most easily stopped forms of the disease.
Stand-up comic Brenda Elsagher's was once voted the funniest person in the Twin Cities. Among her jokes is a message from a colorectal cancer survivor.
"I didn't really like the doctor that much, so I started calling him 'the rear admiral,'" joked Elsagher. "I feel very fortunate. I had to have a colostomy and a hysterectomy."
Her symptoms were at first dismissed as hemorrhoids. She was only in her late thirties. A colonoscopy wouldn't be expected until she turned 50, but the pain and bleeding persisted.
Oncologist Brian Rank is medical director for Health Partners Medical Group. He said colorectal cancer will claim the lives of about 900 Minnesotans this year.
"Six hundred of those 900 deaths are preventable," said Rank.
How? Routine colonoscopies. Dr. Rank said only 50 to 60 percent of people who should get the colorectal cancer screening do. He thinks the rest have not fully understood WHY examining the colon for pre-cancerous polyps with a tiny video camera is a real life saver.
"Making sure that people know screening can prevent cancer. It doesn't just find it early. But by taking polyps out we can prevent cancer," explained Rank.
WCCO sportscaster Bob Rainey lost his battle to colon cancer this summer. He was only 47. African Americans are more at risk for the disease and less likely to be screened.
Dr. Beth Averbeck said electronic records make it easier for care providers like Health Partners to remind patients when they are due for a colonoscopy. However, it's still up to patients to overcome the "ick factor" and follow through.
Once they have the test, she says patients often trigger a domino effect among their peers.
"They became an advocate for the testing and the screening as well, and then can help us with their social networking," said Averbeck.
CBS News Anchor Katie Couric lost her husband to colon cancer and has spent the decade since his death crusading for people to get screened.
"You know the heart ache and the lives lost, and quite frankly, the dollars spent on saving people from these diseases would really be significant," said Couric.
Elsagher has written a couple of books about her battle and she maintains a blog to help other cancer patients cope. What she really hopes is that people will "get their rears in gear" and get in for our screening.
"I tell people 'It's way easier to have a colonoscopy once every five years than to live with a colostomy daily,'" she said.
The age people need to get a colonoscopy depends on risk factors.
Age 50 for the general population, age 45 for blacks and Age 40 or younger if for those with a family history.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Pot Plants Seized From Suburban Homes
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
