Early screening can prevent colorectal cancer, UCI Health experts say

IN THE NEWS: How do you know whether you or a loved one is receiving the best colon cancer care available? UCI Health physicians offer guidance in a program airing nationwide on public television stations called “Advances in Treating Colon Cancer with Surgery."

This episode of the "Healthy Body, Healthy Mind" series features UCI Health interventional gastroenterologist Dr. Kenneth Chang and colorectal surgeons Dr. Michael J. Stamos and Dr. Alessio Pigazzi, who describe the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancers.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths. More than 102,000 colon and 40,000 rectal cancer cases are diagnosed annually and more than 50,000 people die each year. At least 50% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if all men and women ages 50 years or older were routinely screened, says Chang, director of the H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center at UCI Medical Center.

In most cases, colorectal cancer develops from abnormal growths called polyps in the colon or rectum. Stamos says that these precancerous growths can be easily detected in a screening colonoscopy and removed, before becoming malignant.

Learn more about colorectal cancer screening ›