ASGE RE-LAUNCHES COLON CANCER AWARENESS WEB SITE WWW.SCREEN4COLONCANCER.ORG FOR NATIONAL COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Each year more than 150,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer and over 50,000 die from the disease annually in the United States. It doesn’t have to be this way because colon cancer is largely preventable with regular screening and is curable with early detection. The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), representing the specialists in colon cancer screening, is re-launching its colon cancer awareness web site www.screen4coloncancer.org for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March to encourage people to get screened for colon cancer.

“The single best way to prevent colon cancer is to get screened for the disease. ASGE recommends all men and women beginning at age 50 undergo a screening colonoscopy and repeat it every ten years,” said ASGE President Grace H. Elta, MD, FASGE. “Colonoscopy screening is a safe, effective and well tolerated procedure that allows for the detection and removal of precancerous polyps or growths in the colon before they turn in to cancer. I encourage you to log on to www.screen4coloncancer.org to learn more about this preventable disease and where to find an expertly trained physician in your area.”