A federal report in July said that colon cancer screening has reduced colon cancer death rates and reports even reveal that expanded testing may save even more lives. According to a research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the colorectal cancer rates in the United States dropped from 52.3 for 100,000 people in 2003 to 45.4. This represents almost 66,000 fewer cancer cases.
The report added that there were about 32,000 fewer death cases. According to Thomas R. Frieden, the director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 50 percent of the decline was mainly due to the colon cancer screening process. This only means the colon cancer screening works.
Colon cancer is still the second deadliest cancer in the USA, killing over 53,000 patients a year. Colon cancer screening, which physicians recommend to men and women at the age of 50 and older, has increased from 52 percent to 65 percent in a period of 8 years. However, around 30 percent of people from 50 to 75 or around 22 million do not get updated screenings.
Colon cancer screening is actually designed for earlier detection of precancerous polyps that may be removed even before they develop into cancer. Frieden revealed that he had recently removed for non-cancerous polyps after colon cancer screening. Colon cancer is deadly but is preventable. If it is detected early, it can be prevented.
However, Frieden is concerned that after colon cancer screening has steadily increased in the recent years, it has also started to level off. The main reason is that not every physician recommends it. Thus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actively encourages doctors to always recommend the colon cancer screening as this is the best possible way to detect possibility of colon cancer.
