Colon Cancer Quick Facts

Risks and Benefits of Screening

• Colon polyps & early cancer cause no symptoms
• 90% of colorectal cancers are curable when caught in the early stages
• Only 20% arise in people with a known family history of colon cancer
• Incidence of colon cancer is only slightly higher in men compared to women
• 92% of cancers are diagnosed in people over 50
• Colonoscopy and polyp removal reduce new cancers by 66%
• Only about 40% of patients follow screening guidelines
• The second leading cause of cancer-related death
• Average patient looses 13 years of life
• Failure to have routine screening results in only 39% of cancers being diagnosed at an early stage when treatment is highly successful