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NYC Health Dept Urges Colon Cancer Screening Following Revised Recommendations

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Edited by: TJVNews.com

The Health Department is encouraging New Yorkers to get screened for colon cancer and alerting health care providers to the risk of colon cancer at younger ages. The New York City recommendations address both screening age and screening tests.

“Recent days have reminded us of the urgency of screening, detection and treatment for colon cancer,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi. “The latest data showing New Yorkers are getting colon cancer at younger ages are concerning and led us to call attention to the option of screening at a younger age. I urge New Yorkers to speak with their providers about screening options.”

Colon cancer has been increasing in New Yorkers under age 50, and it remains the second leading cause of cancer death. The incidence rises with age, from 31 per 100,000 in adults ages 45 to 49, and 159 per 100,000 by ages 70 to 74, according to the most recent NY State Cancer Registry data. Due to the increase in colon cancer at younger ages, health care providers are asked to consider having patients at average risk of colon cancer start screening at age 45, earlier if you are at increased risk of colon cancer. Screening should start no later than age 50.

To encourage New Yorkers to get screened, the Health Department is also expanding the recommendation for screening tests to include both colonoscopy and stool-based testing for people at average risk. More colon cancer information for New Yorkers is available through a new brochure, fact sheets about test options, and a graphic novella about colonoscopy. They are all available by visiting nyc.gov and searching “colon cancer.”

About a third of colon cancer deaths in New York City are in people younger than 65. Data also show that Black New Yorkers are at increased risk of premature death from colon cancer. Screening at younger ages is particularly relevant for Black New Yorkers, whose risk for colon cancer around age 50 is higher than for any other racial or ethnic group.

“The tragic and untimely death of Chadwick Boseman was a major blow to so many young men and women of color who finally saw themselves represented positively onscreen. We‘ve lost too many young warriors like this great talent to a disease that is curable, treatable, and preventable. While there was only one Black Panther, we all have an opportunity to be superheroes by encouraging friends and loved ones to get screened early for colon cancer and eat a diet rich in foods that prioritize prevention. With cases among those under age 50 on the rise, it is more crucial than ever that we spread this message far and wide,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

People with a family history, such as colon cancer or colon polyps in a family member, and people with certain genetic syndromes, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease may need screening even earlier, and specifically with colonoscopy. All New Yorkers should share their medical and family histories with their health care providers and discuss their colon cancer risk. A new colon cancer screening form can help them do that.

Although COVID-19 continues to spread across the city, it is safe to get medical care, as long as New Yorkers take steps to protect themselves and others. Now is a good time to get the care that may have been delayed while New York City was on pause, including cancer screenings.

The new Health Department recommendation was developed in collaboration with the Citywide Colorectal Cancer Control Coalition (C5), a group of public health professionals, clinicians, non-profit partners and researchers who advise on colon cancer prevention to lower the burden of disease and increase screening rates in NYC. The new recommendation regarding screening age aligns with the 2018 colon cancer screening guideline of the American Cancer Society, and most major U.S. guidelines endorse a choice of screening tests for people who are at average risk.

This spring, the Health Department launched a citywide media campaign that ran in English, Spanish and Chinese titled “I’m Alive Because I Wasn’t Afraid to Ask,” which encouraged New Yorkers age 45 and up to talk to their providers about colon cancer screening.

The agency also published a Vital Signs report highlighting trends and characteristics of timely colon cancer screening in New York City through 2018. The report documented how in 2017, Black and White New Yorkers had the highest age-adjusted rate of death from colon cancer at 13.8 and 12.6 deaths per 100,000 residents, respectively.

Anyone with possible colon cancer symptoms should seek medical evaluation, even if you are younger than the recommended screening age. Symptoms can include a change in bowel movements, such as new constipation or diarrhea, that doesn’t go away, blood in your stool or rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, and unintended weight loss.

Colon cancer often develops slowly. Finding precancerous polyps at age 45-49 could reduce new cases over the next 10 or more years of life. Finding early cancers in the same age range could reduce the number of late stage diagnoses over the next several years of life, which could also reduce premature deaths from colon cancer.

A colonoscopy is a visual test, using a small camera to look inside the colon and rectum for signs of cancer. This procedure can both detect cancer and remove polyps – small growths that may develop into cancer if left alone. Stool-based tests look for signs of cancer in the stool and can also detect some polyps. Abnormal results must be followed by a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy is recommended every 10 years for people at average risk. Stool-based tests need to be done every one to three years, depending on the specific test.

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