Reprinted from Kelsey-Seybold Clinic's Healthy Living magazine, Spring 2008

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among people 50 years and older in the U.S. The good news is that colorectal cancer is preventable, treatable and beatable.

For this demographic that now includes most of the "Baby Boomer" generation, colorectal cancer screenings should be as routine as screening mammograms and pelvic exams are for women and PSA tests are for men.

Early Detection and Prevention Emphasized at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic

"Scientific data clearly indicates that routine screenings can detect colorectal cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage," says John I. Hughes, MD., FACP, FACG, a gastroenterologist at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic. "Almost two-thirds of colorectal cancer deaths are preventable with simple screening and prevention methods. The 5-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is more than 90 percent when detected in the earliest stages."

Who Should Be Screened?

Kelsey-Seybold physicians urge all individuals, 50 and older, and those with a family history of colorectal cancer to talk to their doctor about when to be screened. In addition to those 50 and over, some individuals need to be screened before age 50. These include:

• "High-risk" individuals who have a personal or family history of colorectal cancer or polyps.

• Women who have a family history of ovarian, endometrial or breast cancer should be evaluated for a screening before age 50.

• Men and women who have a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease should also be screened before age 50.

Colorectal Cancer Screenings

Regular screening for patients at average risk for colorectal cancer may include one of the following:

• An annual fecal occult blood test (FOBT), or

• A flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, or

• The combination of annual FOBT and flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, or

• A colonoscopy every 10 years, or

• A barium enema every 5 to 10 years

"At Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, our goal is to empower patients and their primary physicians to take control of this very treatable disease," says Dr. Hughes. "Talk to your family medicine or internal medicine doctor about which colorectal cancer screenings are appropriate for you and when you should begin."