According to the American Cancer Society (ACS): Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer affecting both men and women in the US. The good news, as the ACS says, is that in general, the number of people diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer each year has declined since the mid-1980s, largely due to general awareness about the importance of screenings.
However, more and more younger adults have been diagnosed in recent decades, with the number of colon cancers in people under 50 years of age rising by one to two percent each year since the mid-1990s. (Some experts say a diet high in processed foods often plays a role in this rising trend.)
Americans Are Waiting Too Late to Screen for Colorectal Cancer — Here’s When to Start
But how do you know if you’re at risk for colon cancer? The American Cancer Society says having certain risk factors doesn’t necessarily mean you have shall getting the disease — and not having any risk factors doesn’t necessarily mean you are will notresearch has still identified several traits that may increase your risk.
To help determine your colorectal cancer risk, take the quiz below from Fight Colorectal Cancer, which describes itself as America’s “leading patient empowerment and advocacy organization” for colorectal cancer.
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Questionnaire provided by FightColorectalCancer.org.
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