PIERRE, (KCCR) — March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and Avera Health is taking advantage of the third month of the year to increase awareness of reducing colorectal cancer. One of the best ways to check for colorectal cancer is through a colonoscopy. It’s considered the gold standard of colorectal cancer care because physicians can not only identify a cancer in its early stages, but they can remove precancerous growths, essentially preventing Colorectal cancer from developing. The recommended age to begin having colon screenings has dropped from 50 to 45 years old, which means more individuals are eligible to be screened. Signs of possible colorectal cancer include bowel habit changes, bloating, pain, tenderness or cramping in the lower abdomen, bleeding and unintended weight loss and fatigue. Colorectal cancer is fairly common with more than 150,000 new cases found each year. It’s the second leading cause of cancer deaths overall, and new data revealing that colon cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women under 50 years of age.
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