JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month and Joint
Base San Antonio members 50 years of age and older, or who have a family
history of colon cancer are being urged to get screened for the disease to
prevent it from occurring.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
every year in the U.S. about 140,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer and
50,000 die from the disease, making it the second leading cause of cancer
deaths in the U.S. More than 90 percent of colon cancer cases occur in people
ages 50 years and older.
Colon cancer occurs in the form of polyps, which are
abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum that could become cancerous if not
removed.
Col. Bryce Mays, chief of gastroenterology services at San
Antonio Military Medical Center, said screening and early detection could stop
colon cancer from developing.
“This is a disease that is mostly preventable with
appropriate screening,” Mays said.
Symptoms of colon cancer include a change in normal bowel
habits, including diarrhea, constipation and a change in consistency of stools;
persistent abdominal pain; rectal bleeding, including blood in the stool; and
fatigue, including unexplained weight loss.
Patients should consult their physician as to what screening
test options there are for detecting the disease, Mays said.
While it is recommended that people start getting screened
for colon cancer at 50 years of age, Mays said people who are younger than 50
years of age should consider getting screened earlier if they have a family
history of colon cancer or an inflammatory bowel disease.
According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, patients whose colon
cancer is detected at an early stage have a five-year survival rate of 90
percent.
Priscilla King, a certified personal trainer at the
JBSA-Randolph Rambler Fitness Center, was diagnosed with stage three colon
cancer in 2009. King was 41 years of age at the time of her diagnosis.
King said she first experienced symptoms of colon cancer
three years earlier and had gone to see a physician who misdiagnosed her
condition. She put off getting screened until her symptoms got worse.
After her diagnosis, King underwent 10 months of treatment,
including radiation, chemotherapy and surgery. King said her colon cancer is
now in remission.
King said she urges anyone who has symptoms of colon cancer
to get a screening as soon as possible.
“I am now an advocate of listening to your body and getting
screened, if things aren’t right and you have the symptoms of colon cancer,”
King said.