March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.  Awareness is necessary to dealing with the challenge of colorectal cancer, and the first thing we should be aware of is our individual risk.

Risk factors for colorectal cancer include:  increasing age (older than age 50); a personal history of colorectal cancer; chronic inflammatory bowel disease; a family history of colorectal cancer, adenomatous polyposis or nonpolyposis colon cancer; a diet mostly from animal sources; a physically inactive lifestyle; obesity; smoking; and heavy use of alcohol. Descendents of Jews from Eastern Europe may also be at greater risk of developing colorectal cancer.

These are risks that should be known by the individual.  Another major risk factor is colorectal polyps, and these can only be detected by a colonoscopy.

Early detection is key to treating colorectal cancer.  Unfortunately, the greater Kalamazoo area has been identified as having a significantly lower rate of early detection than the nation as a whole.

I recommend patients in the Kalamazoo area with average risk factors to have their first screening at age 50. If you have a family history of colon cancer or other risk factors, you may want to begin screening at any earlier age; please consult with your physician.  If a patient’s colon screening reveals no polyps, nor any other issues, then every 10 years thereafter is appropriate for routine screening.  If polyps or other issues are identified, the screening physician may recommend repeat screening every 3 or 5 years based on individual findings.

To help increase the rate of early detection for Kalamazoo area residents, Borgess has made screening easy, offering free colorectal screening kits to persons with significant risk factors throughout March.  This screening test is simple and easy to use.    

For the sake of yourself and your loved ones, I urge you use go directly to the screening kit site or call 1-800.828.8135 or 269.226.8135 today.

Brij Dewan, MD
Kalamazoo Gastroenterology & Hepatology, PC