March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, though I’ve been acutely aware of colorectal cancer since last May.
I’m one of the nearly 20,000 Americans younger than 50 years old who was diagnosed with the disease in 2024, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Colorectal cancer was once considered an older person’s disease. It would have been exceedingly rare in people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. But doctors have seen an alarming increase in the number of cases affecting younger people. It’s now the leading cause of cancer-related death for men younger than 50, and second leading cause for women younger than 50, according to the American Cancer Society.
Chadwick Boseman, of “Black Panther” fame, died at 43 of colon cancer. He was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, just like me.
Last November, “Dawson’s Creek” actor James Van Der Beek announced he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 47.
Those are some high-profile cases, but thousands of others who are dealing with the disease don’t make headlines.
Why are colorectal cancer rates on the rise? Researchers are looking for the answer in our genetics, diets, medications and gut bacteria.
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Until they solve the mystery, the best thing we can do for ourselves is make sure we get our colonoscopies. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force — the body that makes recommendations about when to get health scans — lowered the recommended age for a colonoscopy from 50 to 45 in 2021. If you talk to oncologists who treat this type of cancer, as I have been for the last year, there’s wide agreement that the age must be lowered again. I was 44 when I was diagnosed — too young for the routine screening.
After a year of radiation and chemotherapy, here’s what I learned: Don’t ignore symptoms like constipation, blood in your bowel movements and abdominal pain. Eat less processed meat (it contains nitrates), and eat more blueberries (which are high in antioxidants). Most of all, don’t avoid your colonoscopy simply because it sounds uncomfortable. It may just save your life.
Shockingly, though, only 1 in 5 people younger than 50 are up to date with their colonoscopies, according to the American Cancer Society.
Many avoid the procedure because it sounds uncomfortable. But I have good news: You’re under anesthesia when it happens. You don’t even feel it. The hardest part is the preparation the day before. You just need to be near the bathroom.
That’s a small sacrifice to potentially save your own life. It’s something to remember during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month — and every other month, too.
Mike Lowe, reporter, WGN-TV, Lake View
R.I.P., Sun-Times heydays
I am deeply concerned about the state of your “newspaper.” After some heavy-hitting cuts we are left with this? May I suggest that you say “goodnight” and just turn off the lights and close the door. It really hurts to see a once great newspaper become nothing more than a cruise line tablet.
Kevin ODoherty, Naples Florida