Sage Advice: Get Screened for Colorectal Cancer

During the regular meeting March 13, Second Ward Commissioner Gina Sage introduced a proclamation establishing March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in the township and she encouraged residents to get screened.

She presented the proclamation to Patti Hollenback and Jean Gallagher, representatives of Crozer-Keystone Health System.

Some notable facts Sage read from the proclamation include:

• Colon and rectum cancers are the most common diagnosed cancers in Crozer-Keystone Health System hospitals.
• In Pennsylvania, 7,330 new cases of colorectal cancer are predicted and 2,460 Pennsylvanians are expected to die from colorectal cancer in 2012.
• The incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer in Delaware County is higher than the rates in the nation.
• Both incident and mortality rates of colorectal cancer among Delaware County residents are the 4th highest in the state.
• People who have a close relative with colorectal cancer have between two and three times the risk of developing the cancer compared to those who have no family history.
• The survival rate of individuals who have colorectal cancer is 90 percent when detected in the early stages as opposed to 10 percent survival rate when diagnosed after it has spread to other organs.

Read more facts on colorectal cancer in the attached proclamation PDF document.