Assessing Your Risk: How to Use the Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool Effectively
Fast Facts:
- Colorectal Cancer is the second deadliest cancer for men and women combined. Knowing your risk means you can get screened earlier.
- Research shows that effective screening catches colon cancer early, when it’s most curable. Early screening saves lives.
- The National Cancer Institute has developed a Risk Assessment Tool that can help you and your healthcare provider decide if you need to be screened before age 45, the current recommendation to begin screening. Using the Risk Assessment Tool effectively can help you make more informed healthcare decisions when it comes to colon cancer.
If you’ve browsed the CheckIt4Andretti website, you know that we emphasize screening for colon and rectal cancer. The national recommendation for people with normal risk for colon cancer, is to start getting screened starting at age 45. Some people are at increased risk, however. Knowing your risk factors is an important step in knowing if you need to get screened earlier. That’s why every article we post includes the National Cancer Institute’s Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment Tool. It’s even found on our homepage! Let’s take a look at each question on the risk assessment tool and see how it impacts your chances of developing colorectal cancer.
1. Are you Hispanic or Latino?
This question is important because colon cancer is higher in Hispanic and Latino people compared to other White people. This is especially true for younger Hispanic people. Like other ethnic demographics, colon cancer is rising in the 20-29 year old group.
2. To which ethnicity do you identify?
Black Americans have a much higher risk of developing colorectal cancer. And they have an even greater risk of dying from colon cancer than non-Black people. Since there is a greater incidence and mortality, many Black Americans should be screened younger than the age of 45, especially if they have other risk factors.
3. What is your age?
Conventional wisdom says that the older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with colon cancer. This is true. But the incidence of colorectal cancer is actually going down in people over the age of 50. Although it’s still less common in younger people, the rate of colon cancer is increasing in people between the ages of 20-50. As a matter of fact, people born between 1981-1996 have twice the risk of colorectal cancer as people born in 1950.
4. What’s your sex?
Men are at slightly higher risk for colon cancer than women. About 1 in 23 men will be diagnosed with colon cancer in their lifetime. The risk is about 1 in 25 for women.
5. What's your height and weight?
This question is estimating your BMI or body mass index. It’s an imperfect way to determine if you’re overweight or obese. Body builders have a large muscle mass which increases their overall weight, but they usually have very little fat. So a body builder’s BMI might suggest that they’re obese.
Being overweight or obese is a risk factor for developing colorectal cancer, especially in men. And being obese as a child has been linked to an increase in both men’s (39%) and women’s (19%) risk of colorectal cancer at an early age.
6. In the last month, how many servings of vegetables or leafy green salads did you eat per week?
Vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables, are associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Researchers think that folate,Vitamin B-9, may help prevent colon cells from turning cancerous.
7. In the last year, in how many months did you do any kind of moderate physical activity (no sweating, not out of breath)?
Any amount of activity is good for your body. Moderate activity, for 30-60 minutes, 5 times per week can reduce colon cancer risk.
8. In the last year, in how many months, if any, did you do any kind of vigorous activity (that made you sweat and out of breath)?
Doing 10-20 minutes of vigorous activity, 5 times per week can give the same risk reduction as longer amounts of moderate activity. If you can’t do vigorous or moderate activity, start by doing what you can. Any movement is beneficial and over time, you may be able to do more.
9. During the past 10 years, did you have a colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or both?
Studies show that having a colonoscopy on a regular schedule can reduce your risk of developing colon cancer by almost 70%. And it can reduce your risk of dying from colon cancer by almost 90%. That’s because during a colonoscopy, your doctor can see any abnormal tissue (polyps) and remove them before they become cancerous.
10. If you had a colonoscopy, did the doctor find any polyps?
When left untreated, polyps run the risk of turning into colon cancer. Removing the polyp reduces the risk of that happening. Keep in mind, polyp removal isn’t a “one and done” situation. If you have worrisome polyps (large or dysplastic polyps), your gastroenterologist will likely want to perform another colonoscopy sooner than 10 years.
11. During the past 30 days, did you take medications containing aspirin at least 3 times a week, such as Bufferin, Bayer, Excedrin, other generic forms?
Medicines that contain aspirin can reduce your risk of developing colon cancer significantly. Research shows that regular aspirin use can decrease the incidence of colon cancer by about 10%.
12. During the past 30 days, did you take medications that do not contain aspirin at least 3 times a week, such as Advil, Aleve, Celebrex, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Naproxen, or Nuprin?
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are linked to a lower risk of colon cancer and better survival rates. NSAIDs may reduce the development of polyps by reducing inflammation.
Tylenol is not an NSAID and doesn’t have the same rate of risk reduction as aspirin and other NSAIDs.
13. Do you have any immediate relatives (mother, father, brothers or sisters, sons or daughters) who ever had cancer of the colon or rectum (cancer of the lower intestine)?
Colon cancer is one of the most common genetic conditions in people. The defective gene in colon cancer can’t make a protein responsible for repairing DNA. If a close relative is diagnosed with any type of colorectal cancer, you stand a greater chance of developing it, too. That’s why screening and genetic testing should be considered for anyone with a family history of colon cancer.
The Bottom Line:
The National Cancer Institute’s Risk Assessment Tool is an effective way to estimate a person’s risk for colon or rectal cancer. It asks questions about known risk factors that people diagnosed with colorectal cancer share. Having a high risk doesn’t mean that you’ll get colon cancer. And having a low risk doesn’t mean you’re safe. The risk calculator is simply a tool that can prompt you to get screened earlier. Remember to get checked with a colon cancer screening test beginning at age 45, or earlier if you find you have an increased risk. Check it for the people who love you. CheckIt4Andretti.
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