Women Colon Cancer Patients Outnumber Men

More women colon cancer patients died than men with colon cancer in 2005, the most recent year that has all the numbers collected. Many people think only men have colon cancer. In fact, women and men both can have colon cancer.

Only lung and breast cancer kill more women. Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States. In 2005, 26,781 men with colon cancer died, and 27,259 women colon cancer patients died.

Get Screened

The best way for women to be screened for colon cancer is by colonoscopy. Women who smoke or who are overweight need to be screened more frequently because they have a higher risk of colon cancer.

There are other reasons to be screened for colon cancer. People with inflammatory bowel disease need earlier screening, because these diseases can be causes of colon cancer. There are a number of hereditary causes of colon cancer – meaning that you inherit the risk of cancer from your family.

You should make it a point to know when to get screened. Colonoscopy can be started at age 50, but you should be screened earlier if you have a higher risk than others for colon cancer.

This is a great way to prevent colon cancer when you have polyps. Polyps are little out-pouching of abnormal cells that can grow in your colon. These can turn into cancer over time.

If you have this problem, regular colonoscopy can save your life. The cancer is prevented once the polyps are removed. There may also be medication and vitamins which may reduce the number of these polyps. Even if a cancer develops it will be seen early if you always get your recommended colonoscopy. Then your treatment will be easier.

Colonoscopy benefits out way the risks

Some people are afraid of having a colonoscopy. Colonoscopy risks are real, but serious risks are so unlikely that no one should ever refuse to have a colonoscopy because of possible colonoscopy risks. The serious risks would include injury to the wall of the colon which could then bleed, for example, or a hole could be made in the wall of the colon. The risk of death from this procedure is much less than one in a thousand.

Colon cancer survivor stories always include those of people who did get recommended colonoscopy and got their diagnosis at a very early stage in the disease when it could be treated. Survivor stories from women colon cancer patients are not much different than those of men.

Don’t dismiss a recommended colonoscopy

Women colon cancer patients who don't do as well often refused or delayed their colonoscopies because of fear about colonoscopy risks, or fear of the diagnosis of cancer. Please don't let that happen to you.

As a woman, if you have a family history of colon polyps or cancer, or if you are a smoker or seriously overweight, you owe it to your family and yourself to have a colonoscopy whenever your doctor recommends it. If your doctor does not bring it up, you should.

Protect Yourself From the High Cost of Cancer

According to the recent studies, American men have a 44% chance of developing cancer while the chances for women are about 37%. The general risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 6%. For this reason, it's important for everyone, particularly people above the age of 50 years, to go for routine screening.

Whether discovered early or late, cancer is a debilitating disease due to the care, costs and the mental and physical trauma involved. Many times the cost of treatment leaves the patient in heavy financial distress.

Most insurance plans do not cover the total cost of the treatment, which leaves the patient and their family in a lurch. These days people have started purchasing supplemental cancer insurance that can help in covering otherwise uninsured expenses related to cancer illness. If you would like to learn more about supplemental cancer insurance you can click here.

Written by Anna Kaplan - 4/9/09

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