What is 80 percent by 2018? “80 percent by 2018” is a National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable initiative in which dozens of organizations have committed to eliminating colorectal cancer as a major public health problem and are working toward the shared
What is 80 percent by 2018?
“80 percent by 2018” is a National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable initiative in which dozens of organizations have committed to eliminating colorectal cancer as a major public health problem and are working toward the shared goal of increasing the nation’s colorectal cancer screening rate among adults aged 50 and older to 80 percent by the year 2018.
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, an organization co-founded by the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is using this March, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, to rally organizations behind this shared goal.
The Hawaii State Department of Health’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and the Hawaii Cancer Coalition stand united in the belief that we can eliminate colorectal cancer as a major public health problem.
Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the U.S., and a cause of considerable suffering among more than 140,000 adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year.
When adults get screened for colorectal cancer, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful, and in some cases, it can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps.
About 1 in 3 adults between 50 and 75 years old — about 23 million people — are not getting tested as recommended.
There are three basic types of screening for colorectal cancer: guaiac fecal occult blood test (FOBT), sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy.
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends that all adults aged 50 to 75 years receive:
• An annual FOBT;
• A sigmoidoscopy every five years and a FOBT every three years; or
• A colonoscopy every 10 years.
In 2012, 58 percent of Kauai adults aged 50-75 met the guidelines for colorectal cancer screening versus 61 percent statewide.
Screening can save lives, but only if people get tested. The best test is the one that gets done.
If you are 50 years old or older, get screened now.
Colon cancer is one of only two cancers that can actually be prevented through screening (cervical cancer is the other). About half of all colon cancer deaths in the U.S. could be prevented each year if everyone age 50 and older were screened for the disease. The American Cancer Society recommends everyone age 50 or older talk to their doctor about getting tested and about which test is right for them, even if there is no family history of the disease. Reduce your risk of colorectal cancer.
It’s important to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle by:
• Getting and staying active: Engaging in regular physical activity most days of the week.
• Eating right: Choosing vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; limiting red and processed meat, including pork and lunch meats; and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.
• Kicking the habit: Quitting or avoiding smoking and other tobacco products.
• Living a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of colon cancer, but regular screening is also important. Testing can often find colon cancer early, when it’s most treatable, or sometimes even prevent it altogether.
• Florlyn Taflinger is cancer programs coordinator, comprehensive Cancer Control Program and Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program, State of Hawaii, Department of Health, Chronic Disease Management Branch.
