According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, colorectal cancer is cancer that occurs in the colon or rectum. Sometimes it is called colon cancer, for short. The colon is the large intestine or large bowel. Colorectal cancer affects men and women of all racial and ethnic groups, and is most often found in people aged 50 years or older. In the United States, it is the third most common cancer for men and women. Of cancers that affect both men and women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, but it doesn’t have to be. If everybody aged 50 or older had regular screening tests, as many as 60% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be prevented.

For more information and resources regarding colorectal cancer screening, speaking to a loved one about your concerns regarding getting regularly screened, and questions to ask your doctor, please visit the Healthfinder.gov website.