The horrible facts: Cancer is certainly a leading cause of death in the United States. According to the most recent data available from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 1.6 million new cancer cases are diagnosed each year, with approximately 30,000 of those cases being diagnosed in Arizona. Additionally, approximately 600,000 cancer deaths occur each year in the U.S., including nearly 12,000 in Arizona.
This means, for every 100,000 adult men and women in Arizona, approximately 380 were diagnosed with cancer and approximately 143 died from it. Nationally and in Arizona, the 10 most common diagnosed cancers are (in order of highest incidence) breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, uterine, skin, bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and thyroid.
One bit of good news for Arizonans is that when it comes to cancer diagnoses and death, Arizona ranks lower than the national average in both categories. And, thanks to early screenings, new treatment options and understanding risk factors, people are preventing cancer and living longer after being diagnosed with cancer.
Decreasing Your Risks of Developing Cancer
The American Cancer Society describes a cancer risk factor as anything that affects your chance of developing cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Researchers have found several risk factors might increase a person’s chance of developing cancer, including being overweight, physical inactivity, diets high in meat and sugar and low in fruits and vegetables, smoking and alcohol use. These are all personal habits that a person can choose to modify.
Other risk factors, like a person’s age or family history, can’t be changed.
But having a risk factor, or even many, does not mean that you will get the disease. And some people who get the disease may not have any known risk factors.
Early Detection and Cancer Screenings
Finding and treating possible cancer growths or cancer in early stages can significantly decrease cancer probability and increase survival rates. For example, it is estimated that nearly 75 percent of colorectal cancer cases could be prevented through proper screening and regular colonoscopies to prevent the disease from maturing.
Colorectal cancer usually develops slowly within the colon or rectum and begins as a non-cancerous polyp, which can form into a cancerous polyp. Polyps are abnormal tissue growths that often look like small bumps or small mushrooms. Most polyps are small and less than half an inch wide. Polyps in the colon are the most common.
From the time the first abnormal cells start to grow into polyps, it usually takes about 10 to 15 years for them to develop into colorectal cancer.
Once the polyps become cancer and have spread to a late stage, the ability to effectively treat the cancer is diminished and the long-term survival rates are reduced by more than 80 percent.
Fortunately, the number of deaths associated with colorectal cancer is declining. This partially is due to more people seeking early screening as well as the removal of colon polyps before they can develop into cancer.
Screening Guidelines
The CDC and the U.S. Preventive Service Task Forces recommend colorectal cancer screening to begin at age 50 and continue until age 75; however, testing may need to begin earlier or be more frequent if colorectal cancer runs in the family, or if there is a previous diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease.
(A screening test is used to look for a disease when a person doesn’t have symptoms. When a person has symptoms, diagnostic tests are used to find out the cause of the symptoms.)
The most common and least invasive screening tool for colorectal cancer is the fecal (stool) occult blood test. This test can detect very small quantities of blood in the stool that are a result of cancer or large polyps that bleed into the intestine. The test kits are very easy to use at home and are then mailed to a clinic or lab for processing.
Getting Screened with Free Take-Home Kits
NACA (Native Americans for Community Action) is offering free at-home FIT (fecal immunochemical test) screening kits to its new and current patients. The FIT can detect small amounts of blood in your stool sample. NACA is offering these free tests for its patients to promote the need for early detection and diagnosis of this treatable disease. The test kits are very easy to use at home and are then mailed to the NACA clinic for processing.
The screening is recommended for both men and women over the age of 50, those who have a family history of the disease or who may have colorectal polyps and individuals who have chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
Not a NACA patient? Contact Native Americans for Community Action today to become an established patient. Come in and learn more about colorectal cancer screenings and how they can save your life! Call 928-773-1245 for more information or to schedule an appointment with a provider. FBN
To learn more about NACA programs, services, events and community outreach, visit NACAInc.org.
Jeff Axtell, MPH, BS, is the CEO of NACA, Inc., and has served in leadership roles in public and private healthcare organizations since 1989.
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