She never wavered in her message: screening for colon cancer saves lives. Shortly before the suggested screening age was reduced from 50 to 45, Comer received his diagnosis at 47.
The screening age was subsequently raised to 45. “I would have been inconvenienced for perhaps 18 months, but it wouldn’t have been a death sentence if that had been the case and I had been screened,” she said.
She persisted, “I say it over and over again: Screen early.” “I’m a real pain in the ass.” I keep telling the same thing: try this, screen early, and what about this?
One of the most dangerous yet avoidable malignancies is colorectal cancer.
The American Cancer Society estimates that it will take about 52,900 lives this year alone, making it the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths for men and the fourth most common for women in the United States.
Better screening and lifestyle modifications have reduced the number of cases overall, but between 2012 and 2021, the incidence among younger individuals is increasing by 2.5 percent year.
