Sisters Share Colon Cancer Screening Message for Younger Adults

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, and although elective screenings and medical procedures such as colonoscopy are tentatively on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, if you are 45 and older and have not yet had your regular screening, now is a good time to make a future appointment.

There’s been a dramatic rise in younger adults being diagnosed with colon cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Overall, those born in 1990 have double the risk of developing colon cancer and four times the risk of getting rectal cancer compared to those born around 1950. That's why, in response to the alarming trend, the American Cancer Society in 2018 lowered the recommended age for routine colorectal cancer screening to 45 from 50. Those with a family history of colorectal cancer should talk to their doctors about starting screening even earlier.

Twelve years ago, when Marci Jackson Cooke of Towson was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 37, she was on the leading edge of this trend in younger adults. “It was nothing I ever expected,” says Marci. “It was really surprising. I actually had blood in my stool. A lot of people don’t want to talk about those kinds of bodily functions, like problems with bowel movements or pain. It brought home to me how important it is to listen to your body and consult your doctor.”

As a result of Marci’s diagnosis, her younger sister Marielle Jackson, has been able to avoid a colon cancer diagnosis. Marielle, also of Towson, explains, “The recommendation from Marci’s doctor was that I should start screening when I was ten years younger than the age of her diagnosis. I was under 30 at the time and thought that colonoscopies are something for older people.”

But Marielle discovered that having a colonoscopy is a lifesaver. Thanks to colonoscopies, she has had both benign and pre-cancerous polyps removed. In a strange twist that made colon cancer even more of a family affair, Marci and Marielle’s mother was also diagnosed with colon cancer a few years after Marci. Although the family has gone through genetic testing, no genetic link to their shared predisposition to colon cancer has been found.

Marielle now gets colonoscopies every two years and says, “I always tell people that I would rather go through a colonoscopy than through the chemotherapy and surgery that our mom and Marci went through. I’ll get screened as often as the doctor tells me to.”

Both Marci and Marielle volunteer for the American Cancer Society and are passionately involved as committee members for the Outrun Cancer 5K & 1 Mile Family Fun Walk which takes place at Goucher College in Towson annually. Sunday, August 2, 2020 will be the 3rd annual year for the event. To register and for more information, see www.outruncancer.org.

Funds raised from the Outrun Cancer 5K go to support the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving mission to fund cancer research, provide services for cancer patients and their loved ones and run the 24/7 cancer hotline that has trained cancer specialists available 365 days a year to answer questions and provide resources and support at 1-800-227-2345.

Almost all colon cancer begins as a polyp that can be caught early and removed through colonoscopy and polypectomy.

The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT), of which ACS is part, announced a new campaign this year, 80% in Every Community, that emphasizes the commitment to reach 80% colorectal cancer screening rates nationally to save thousands of lives. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), only 69.5% of age-eligible residents in Maryland in 2016 had a current CRC screening test.

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and in women. It is the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men and women combined. During 2019 in the U.S., the American Cancer Society estimates that more than 145,000 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed and that 51,020 deaths from colorectal cancer will occur. This year in Maryland, ACS estimates 2,620 new cases of colorectal cancer and 880 deaths and in Washington, DC, 260 new cases and 100 deaths.

Risk Factors: Based on an ACS study, more than half (55%) of colorectal cancers in the U.S. are attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors. Modifiable factors that increase risk include obesity, physical inactivity, long-term smoking, high consumption of red or processed meat, low calcium intake, moderate to heavy alcohol consumption, and very low intake of fruits and vegetables and whole-grain fiber. Colorectal cancer risk factors that are not modifiable include a personal or family history of colorectal cancer.

For more information or the nearest screening options, www.cancer.org/colon or 1-800-227-2345.