Colon cancer doesn't have to be deadly - here's how to protect yourself against it

FOX 2 - This year about 50,000 men and the same number of women will be diagnosed with colon cancer - and about half those people will die.

Is colon cancer curable if caught early? Dr. Claire Peeples says yes.

"Yes, that's why getting a colonoscopy is so beneficial," she said.

Your colon is big - in the job it does and the space it occupies. At about 5 feet long, searching those nooks and crannys for polyps or precancer growths is best done by a colonoscopy.

For those who don't want a colonscopy, Peeples, a Corewell Health colon rectal surgeon explains, there's another option.

"The stool test is the next best thing," she said. "It's got a high sensitivity - meaning if you have a cancer it will likely detect it. It does kind of detect polyps as well, but it's not as good as a colonoscopy."

In the age group that gets screened, the rate of colon cancer is trending down. but for those too young to qualify for screening, the rate is going up.

It's not exactly clear why, but Dr. Peeples says for anyone under 45, pay attention to your body. 

"Don't assume bleeding is from hemorrhoids it could be from something higher up in the colon," Peeples said. "So the important thing is to seek out help and have a doctor take a look."

Let's talk prevention - how much fiber are you eating? At least 25 grams of fiber a day can help lead to a healthy gut -that healthy gut can impact your risk for colon cancer.

"The higher inflammation in the gut can lead to higher rates of polyps and colon cancer," she said. "So decreasing that inflammation, there are ways to do that with diet, exercise and fiber intake."

Remember the screening age for colon cancer is 45, unless you have other risk factors - for anyone younger than that, pay close attention to your body and if anything seems off, talk to your doctor.