This month is nationally recognized as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the United States and the second leading cause of death from cancer. Colorectal cancer affects all racial and ethnic groups and is most often found in people ages 50 and older.
The best way to prevent colorectal cancer is to get screened regularly starting at age 50. There are often no signs or symptoms of colorectal cancer – that’s why it’s so important to get screened.
To increase awareness about the importance of colorectal cancer screening, C.E.b. Fitness & Wellness is proudly participating in Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. At a state level, colorectal cancer kills more Californians more than any other cancer, except for lung cancer (Facts about Colorectal Cancer in California, 2009). In 2012, there were 14,114 cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed and 5,189 deaths as a result of the disease in the state of California. (Colorectal Cancer in California: 1988-2012, 2011).
People over age 50 have the highest risk of colorectal cancer. You may also be at higher risk if you are African American, smoke, or have a family history of colorectal cancer.
Everyone can take these healthy steps to help prevent colorectal cancer:
- Get screened starting at age 50.
- Encourage your family members and friends over age 50 to get screened.
- Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.
- Get plenty of physical activity and eat healthy. <—that’s music to my ears!
Looking for ways to increase your physical activity and eat healthier? Look no further! Contact me to schedule a consultation to discuss your fitness, nutrition, and wellness goals!
C.E.b. Fitness & Wellness, LLC 
Why is there no mention of meat intake and processed meat intake on this chart? This is ridiculous! This was published in March 2017, well after the World Health Organization categorized processed meats as a class 1 carcinogen and countless studies have shown a high correlation between processed meat intake (bacon, sausage, pepperoni, etc.) and red meat intake with an increased occurrence of colorectal cancer. You should be ashamed of putting out such incomplete information. Do you not want to actually help people prevent this horrible disease? You state in the article “The best way to prevent colorectal cancer is to get screened regularly starting at age 50” but wouldn’t it be better to tell people how to actually try and prevent this disease by telling them ALL the risk factors, and not only the ones that you’re comfortable with or agree with? I find it disgusting that medical professionals and so-called “health experts” put scientific evidence on the back burner to satisfy people’s gluttony, if we know we can prevent disease with diet why are we not shouting it from the rooftops? Why is the medical community continuing to lie about “prevention” and “cures”? It’s shameful. I watched my mother die a slow and agonizing death from colorectal cancer, and then I learned everything I could about how to limit my chance of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer – and all signs pointed to a whole foods, plant-based diet. I will NOT be fooled by industry standards of cancer “prevention” because it’s all nonsense. Just like this chart and article. You should be ashamed of putting out such misleading and incomplete information. If you really want to “prevent” this disease you need to give people ALL the facts, and the fact is that processed meats cause cancer, just like cigarettes and asbestos… and I bet you don’t condone tobacco use, but you do condone processed meat consumption? How does that make sense to anybody with a brain?
All great points, Maggie. I, too, agree that the consumption of meat–both processed and the the ones pumped with all types of hormones–are also contributing factors to a plethora of health conditions. I’m so sorry to hear about your mother. I agree with what you learned about eating whole foods and a plant-based diet. I don’t think this information is misleading, but as with many infographic charts, they are not as comprehensive as something such as a meta analysis of the causes of colorectal cancer. I had no intention of presenting such an analysis in this blog post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and enthusiastic critique of this post and the content it conveys. I honestly wish more people were as passionate about their health as you!