Number Three Cancer Killer Is Largely Preventable

As the nation marks the seventh annual National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March 2006, the American Cancer Society is raising awareness that this cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States, is largely preventable. It is estimated that each year more than 148,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer (commonly referred to as "colon cancer") and more than 55,000 will die, a number that could be cut in half if Americans followed American Cancer Society screening recommendations for early detection.

Perhaps the least understood aspect of colon cancer, and the most compelling, is the fact that colon cancer can be stopped before it starts if precancerous polyps are found and removed early, thereby avoiding the disease completely.

For a second year in a row, in an effort to boost colon cancer screening rates, the American Cancer Society has launched its Fabulous at 50 campaign. Fabulous at 50 is the American Cancer Society's rallying cry to get all Americans 50 and older screened for colorectal cancer-the third most common cancer in men and women.

"In 2006, the American Cancer Society estimates that 9,540 new colon cancer cases will be diagnosed in New York with an estimated 3,540 colon cancer deaths in the state. When colon cancer is caught at an early stage, it has a 90 percent survival rate. Still, fewer than four in 10 (39 percent) of these cancers are discovered at this stage. After the cancer has spread, the five-year survival rate drops to 67 percent.

Central to the Fabulous at 50 campaign is the American Cancer Society's updated colon cancer Web site, www.cancer.org/colonfab50.

Information about colon cancer, including information on low-cost or no-cost colon cancer screening for uninsured or underinsured individuals is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.cancer.org/colonfab50 or by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.