March is Colon Cancer Awareness and I have a simple suggestion for your health awareness: Follow your gut! Stick with me as I share important information about colorectal cancer, commonly called colon cancer.
The American Cancer Society introduced a great way to raise awareness for colon cancer every spring. The American Cancer Society selected Daffodils, a lovely spring perennial, for its Hope by the Bunch campaign. This lovely, delicate yellow bud represents a universal symbol of hope and life.
The Hope By The Bunch is powered by 1800FLOWERS.COM. You can also contact your local branch of the American Cancer Society to purchase daffodils. The campaign will deliver thousands of yellow flowers across the country to businesses, schools, organizations, Hope Lodge facilities, and other locations to raise awareness and funds for the fight against cancer.
Many of the symptoms of colon cancer can also be caused by infections, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome, or inflammatory bowel disease.
Of all cancers affecting both men and women, colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon and rectum, is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be. Screenings can find precancerous polyps-abnormal growths in the colon or rectum, so they can be removed before turning into cancer.
The American Cancer Society recommends that if you are 50 or older, you get screens now. If you have a family history of colon cancer or parents with polyps removed from their colon, talk to your doctor about getting screened early.
What about the screening?
The colonoscopy lets the doctor closely look at the inside of the entire colon and rectum. The doctor is looking for polyps, which could be an early sign of cancer. Polyps are small growths that, over time, can become cancer.
I can attest from my first colorectal screening in May 2006 that the worst part of the screening procedure is the preparation that one must drink to clean out one’s colon. As for the actual procedure, you won’t remember a thing because of local anesthesia. It sleepy and relaxed. Once colonoscopy is completed, you will be immediately woken up.
10 Ways to reduce Your Risk of Colon Cancer:
The American Cancer Society Hope By The Bunch runs from March 1st through March 11, 2016. Follow your gut and support the American Cancer Society by purchasing daffodils for awareness and cancer fund research. At a minimum, get screened if you are 50 or older; the test should be repeated every ten years. I scheduled mine for later this month.
Have a fabulous week!
