More colon cancer cases found in younger people, new report shows
The burden of colorectal cancer in the United States is shifting to younger adults, and more patients are being diagnosed with later stage disease, according to a concerning new report from the American Cancer Society.
One in 5 new cases of colorectal cancer in the United States occur in people younger than 55 — about twice the rate in 1995, when 11 percent of cases were in this age group. In another alarming shift, 60 percent of patients are being diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease, up from 52 percent in the mid-2000s.
The reasons behind the trends aren’t fully understood, but the findings suggest that steady progress to reduce the incidence of colon cancer through screening during the past few decades is losing momentum.
p.s. One of my growing group of Cancer Fighters died last week. This was the guy who is 45, looked 80, and who smoked 4 packs of ciggies daily while working at a convenience store. How one could smoke that much and not have bosses catch on to the missing employee is beyond me.