News
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
March 6, 2009 – In order to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, March was designated Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by the U.S. Congress in 1999. An average individual has a lifetime risk of developing colon cancer of approximately 6%. Most people know that mammography and PSA (prostate-specific antigen test) can detect cancer once it develops, but did you know that colon cancer can be prevented by screening?
There are several ways to screen for colon cancer, and it is best to talk with your family doctor to determine which is best for you. Keep in mind that most people developing colon cancer do not have a family history and do not have symptoms, so it is very important to get screened starting at age 50 even if you are at “average risk.”
At the MUSC Digestive Disease Center, we offer state of the art endoscopic screening capabilities including high definition monitors and endoscopes with narrow band imaging1. These additions to traditional colonoscopy can improve the detection rates of polyps, especially flat polyps. Our group’s unique ability to remove large polyps, including some superficial cancers, endoscopically with endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) decreases the need for surgery. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) staging allows us to tailor radiation and chemotherapy decisions for rectal cancer.
If surgery is required for cancer, our surgeons are performing minimally invasive procedures whenever possible. Advances in technology now make it possible to remove many tumors laparoscopically and to reconnect near the anus so that ostomies2 can be avoided.
We are involved in research to try to develop screening tests for polyps and cancers using blood so that invasive procedures won’t be required except for those with abnormal blood tests. We are also working hard to understand and close racial and gender gaps in colon cancer care, as well as doing research to improve the quality of colonoscopies.
The DDC faculty share appointments within the Hollings Cancer Center, one of only 64 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. This affiliation with the NCI means that our patients will have access to the newest and broadest range of therapies available for their cancer.
1 Narrow band imaging, or NBI, is an optical filter technology that improves
the visibility of capillaries, veins and other subtle tissue structures.
2 An ostomy is a surgically created opening in the body for the discharge of body wastes.
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