Progress You Can See!

Nearly 150,000 Americans develop colorectal cancer each year, a debilitating and potentially deadly cancer.¹ Colorectal cancers are the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, with one out of every 18 people in the United States developing colorectal cancer in their lifetime and 57,000 people dying each year from the disease.²
Studies show that in addition to the human toll, the economic cost of colorectal cancer is also high. In a recent study, the cost to treat all colorectal cancers was about $8.4 billion per year.³Early detection of colon cancer through regular screening can save many lives and countless dollars.
A colonoscopy screens for colon cancer by allowing a physician to examine the inside walls of the colon with a slender, flexible, lighted instrument. Another option used to screen for colon cancer is a “virtual” colonoscopy, which is conducted with an MRI and also allows a physician to see the walls of the colon.
In the past, most patients underwent traditional open surgery for colorectal cancer, typically requiring an invasive procedure with an incision up to 12 inches long, which would ultimately lead to a painful and long recovery. Today patients can have a laparoscopic or minimally invasive procedure with a series of small incisions, from 1/4-inch to four inches long. These advancements offer patients less pain and scarring and a quicker recovery than with the traditional surgery.
The primary tests for colon cancer are fecal occult blood tests (FOBT), the flexible-sigmoidoscopy test, the double-contrast barium enema and the colonoscopy. If polyps or suspicious lesions are found, they must be followed up with a colonoscopy, during which the suspicious growths may be removed.
Studies on FOBT have shown that periodic use of this screening method lowers the risk of death from colorectal cancer by 15 to 33 percent.^4,5FOBT also has been responsible for a 20-percent decrease in the incidence of colon cancer by detecting large polyps which can then be removed by colonoscopy.⁶Compliance with screening recommendations would save nearly $200 million each year in the Unites States alone.⁷
Unfortunately, only 37 percent of colon cancer patients are diagnosed at the local stage before it has spread from the colon and rectum to the surrounding tissue. With widespread adoption of screening practices, as many as 30,000 lives could be saved each year.²

American Cancer Society. “The American Cancer Society Overview: Colon and Rectum Cancer.” http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/ CRI_2_2_1X_How_Many_People_Get_Colorectal_Cancer.asp (26 April 2006).
Colon Cancer Alliance. “Statistics on Colon Cancer.” http://www.ccalliance.org/about/disease/crcfacts.html (31 March 2006).
Brown M, Riley G, Schussler N, Etzioni R. “Estimating health care costs related to cancer treatment from SEER-Medicare data.” Medical Care 40 (2002):104-17.
Smith R, von Eschenbach A, Wender R, et al. “American Cancer Society guidelines for the early detection of cancer: update of early detection guidelines for prostate, colorectal, and endometrial cancers.” Canadian Cancer Journal Clinic 51(1) (2001):38-75.
Pigone M, Rich M, Teutsch S, et al. “Screening for colorectal cancer in adults at average risk: a summary of the evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force.” Ann Internal Med 137(2) (2002):132-141.
Mandel JS, Church TR, Bond JH, et al. “The effect of fecal-occult-blood screening on the incidence of colorectal cancer.” New England Journal of Medicine 343 (2002):162-168.
National Committee for Quality Assurance. The State of Healthcare Quality Report 2004.