March designated as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Lancaster, CA.-With March designated as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, it’s important for the Black community to know how you can lower your risk of developing this potentially deadly, but treatable disease.

In 2025, it’s estimated that colon cancer will cause approximately 52,900 deaths in the United States, according to cancer.org. This makes it one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths.

Additionally, it’s estimated that there will be approximately 107,320 new cases of colon cancer in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society. This includes about 54,510 cases in men and 52,810 cases in women.

Furthermore, it’s projected that approximately 8% of new cancer diagnoses among African American men and women will be colon cancer,  according to CancerTherapyAdvisor.com. This translates to around 10,326 African American men and 9,551 African American women being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

That’s why early detection and treatment are especially critical within the Black community. African Americans have the highest incidence rates of colorectal cancer among all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This group also experiences higher mortality rates from colorectal cancer compared to other populations.

“When it is found at an early stage, the survival rate of colon cancer can be as high as 90%,” said Dr. Karl Kwok, an interventional gastroenterologist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “That’s because regular screenings can help detect advanced polyps that are precancerous and enable us to remove them using techniques that don’t require surgery.”Can colorectal cancer be prevented?Absolutely! Most cases of colon cancer are due to sporadic development of precancerous polyps that don’t cause symptoms for a long period of time.“This is why screening and early treatment are so critical — the earlier we detect and remove these polyps, the less likely they can grow into an advanced polyp and ultimately turn into cancer,” Dr. Kwok explained. “Multiple studies have shown that precancerous colon polyp removal is protective against subsequent development of colon cancer.”

What methods are used to screen people for colorectal cancer?

Kaiser Permanente encourages its members who are age 45 and older to undergo screening with one of the following options:

• A yearly at-home fecal immunochemical test, also known as FIT.

• For  those at average-risk, a sigmoidoscopy every five years.

• For those at average risk, a colonoscopy every 10 years.

What risk factors increase a person’s chance of developing colorectal polyps or colorectal cancer?

According to Dr. Kwok, some of the known risk factors for developing colon cancer include:

• Having a diet heavy in red meats and processed meats.

• Having a sedentary lifestyle.

• Being overweight or obese.

• Smoking and heavy alcohol use.

• Having a family history of colon cancer, especially a first-degree relative (mother, father, sibling, or child).

• Having a personal history of colorectal polyps or a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (a condition that causes chronic inflammation of the colon).

• Your racial and ethnic background or your personal health history; for example, African- Americans have the highest colorectal cancer incidence; people with a history of kidney transplants, and people with Type 2 diabetes also have an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Kaiser Permanente offers much information about colorectal cancer and the screening process. 

Early Diagnosis and Treatment Offer Best Chance of a Cure from Colon Cancer in the Black Community

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