Each year approximately 150,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with colon cancer and nearly 50,000 will die from the disease. All men and women are at risk for colon cancer. However, because of disproportionate screening rates, minorities, including Hispanics, are more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer in advanced stages. Survival rates after diagnosis are also lower for Hispanics and may be due to less access to timely and high-quality treatment. The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), representing the specialists in colon cancer screening, advises Hispanics to speak to their physicians about getting screened for colon cancer.
“Colon cancer is a largely preventable disease. Colonoscopy screening can detect polyps and remove them before they turn into cancer,” said Marcia R. Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, FASGE, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. “There is a myth in the Hispanic community that colon cancer is a man’s disease. Colon cancer is an equal opportunity disease that does not discriminate against gender or race. I encourage all Hispanics age 50 and over to speak with their physician about colon cancer screening. If you have a family history of the disease, you may need to begin screening before age 50.”
Colon cancer affects both men and women. Your age, not your gender, is the single most important risk factor for colon cancer. According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Hispanic men and the third leading cause of cancer deaths among women. The death rates due to colon cancer between 1994 and 2003 have decreased for Hispanic men, but have not changed for Hispanic women. Both men and women should undergo testing for the disease starting at age 50. Most insurance covers screening at age 50. If you are 65 or older, screening is covered by Medicare. For many people, a referral is not required.
Colorectal cancer, also referred to as colon cancer, is cancer of the colon or rectum and is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. for men and women combined. Colorectal cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in Hispanic Americans. Some people are at a higher risk for the disease because of age, lifestyle or personal and family medical history. When people are diagnosed with colon cancer at an early stage, the five-year survival rate is 90 percent, which is why screening for prevention and early detection is so important.
Colon Cancer Screening
Colonoscopy plays an important role in colon cancer prevention because precancerous polyps can be removed when they are discovered during the procedure. Polyps are growths on the lining of the colon or rectum that may become cancer. These polyps can be removed to prevent cancer from occurring. Colonoscopy, when performed by a well-trained endoscopist, gastroenterologist or surgeon, is the most effective screening test.Colon Cancer Symptoms
Colon cancer is a silent killer. Usually there are no symptoms to rely on, and when there are symptoms, the cancer may be at an advanced stage. When colon cancer is caught early, most people are cured. However, when colon cancer is detected at later stages, the chances for cure are much lower.Although colon cancer often has no symptoms, warning signs that may indicate colon cancer include blood in your stools, narrower than normal stools, unexplained abdominal pain, unexplained change in bowel habits, unexplained anemia, and unexplained weight loss. These symptoms may be caused by other benign diseases such as hemorrhoids, inflammation in the colon or irritable bowel syndrome. If you have any of these symptoms, however, you should be evaluated by your physician.
Language Barriers
A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (June 23, 2008) also cited language as a barrier in regards to racial discrepancies and colon cancer screening. ASGE offers patient brochures in Spanish for physicians to order at www.asge.org. The Society also offers a colon cancer awareness Web site, www.screen4coloncancer.org, that has content in English, Spanish and Chinese, including Spanish-language patient education videos.Here are a few important facts Hispanics need to know about colon cancer:
* Hispanic Americans are less likely to get screened for colon cancer than either Caucasians or African Americans.
* Starting at age 50, all men and women should begin having colon cancer screening tests.
* Some people are at higher risk for the disease because of age, lifestyle or personal and family medical history. However, colon cancer affects men and women alike.
* Tell your health care professional if you have a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, colorectal polyps or inflammatory bowel disease. Then ask which test you should have and when you should begin colon cancer screening.
* There are many obstacles to colon cancer screening, including reluctance to talk about colon cancer and embarrassment about having tests that are perceived as invasive, such as colonoscopy, or that require stool samples.About the American Society for Gastrointestinal EndoscopyFounded in 1941, the mission of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy is to be the leader in advancing patient care and digestive health by promoting excellence in gastrointestinal endoscopy. ASGE, with more than 10,000 physician members worldwide, promotes the highest standards for endoscopic training and practice, fosters endoscopic research, recognizes distinguished contributions to endoscopy, and is the foremost resource for endoscopic education. Visit www.asge.org and www.screen4coloncancer.org for more information.
About Endoscopy Endoscopy is performed by specially-trained physicians called endoscopists using the most current technology to diagnose and treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Using flexible, thin tubes called endoscopes, endoscopists are able to access the human digestive tract without incisions via natural orifices. Endoscopes are designed with high-intensity lighting and fitted with precision devices that allow viewing and treatment of the gastrointestinal system. In many cases, screening or treatment of conditions can be delivered via the endoscope without the need for further sedation, treatment or hospital stay.
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Knowledge is Power and this page is just the start. Hispanics/Latinos are a growing diverse force in this country. Check out some of the 53,939 items found on this site below or dig into the Site Map
Best of the Rest
- November 7, 2009
- WCVI Study Finds Disproportionate Foreclosures in Latino, Black Communities
- A small Dominican Republic town plagued by birth defects wants to know if a U.S. power company is to blame.
- In pictures: Yucatan wonders – (wow some amazing photos)
- George Mason University Study Shows Deep Anti-Immigration Sentiment in Pockets of Prince William County
- CNN’s Rick Sanchez Interviews Juanita Castro: “While you were still in Cuba and your brother was beginning a Marxist revolution, you were not only cooperating with the CIA, but you were protecting CIA agents who were inside Cuba at the time.”
- Report on Women’s Human Rights Violations Shows Systematic Attack on Women Under Honduran Coup
- Would Mass Deportation Mean More Jobs for U.S. Workers?
- November 6, 2009
- The closing immigration window
- THE LEGALIZATION SOLUTION – IPC Reports Highlight Gains Made From Legalization Programs Past and Explore Future Legalization Proposals
- Activists Push for Immigration Reform on Anniversary of Long Island Hate Crime – Marcelo Lucero
- Miami sports agent who aided in defections freed from jail – Juan Ignacio Hernández Nodar, a Miami sports agent who served 13 years for trying to help Cuban baseball stars defect, will fly home Friday.
- Like California’s 30 years ago, Oregon’s growing Latino population is reaching a tipping point: A critical mass of Latino professionals is starting to organize and influence state and local politics. – dubbed Latino Agenda for Action
- The memory of Marcelo Lucero’s death still horrifies but the atmosphere that created it still exists
- One of Marcelo Lucero’s Attackers Pleads Guilty
- A third woman has filed a paternity claim against Paraguay’s Roman Catholic bishop-turned- president, her lawyer confirmed Thursday – President Fernando Lugo
- November 5, 2009
- AZ GOP Committeman: Ask “Brown People” About Crime in Tucson
- Francisco Ayala, honored Spanish author, dies at 103
- Mixed impressions inside the poll numbers – Texans on immigration
- Hispanic women snap up brands that boost their behinds- Colombian jeans celebrate women’s curves
- In Mexico, fears of a ‘lost generation’ – Violence among young soars as drug cartels recruit more minors
- They’ll (the NBA) take our money, but do they want us in the stands?
- Geraldo Rivera faces tough critics – a pair of abuelitas
- Remembering Marcelo Lucero : One Year Later, The List of Hate Crimes Grows Longer
- Guest Columnist: Sergio Troncoso. Is the Texas Library Association excluding Latino writers?
- The Prevention Research Center (PRC) in St. Louis is launching a multinational research project focused on preventing the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the United States and Latin America. – will conduct a four-year, $2.8 million effort to apply and adapt evidence-based strategies for preventing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity in the United States, Mexico and Brazil
- Hispanic Voter Turnout Remains Low – voter turnout rate of just 21% in Yakima, WA
- Dr. Luther Castillo — Voice of the Voiceless in Honduras
- FIU to develop model programs to keep Hispanics in college – Although 57% of non-Hispanic white students nationwide graduate within six years; only 46 % of Hispanics do so.
- Dominican-born judge wins bench in N.Y. State Supreme Court – Diccia Pineda-Kirwan
- Deal to restore Manuel Zelaya in Honduras at risk – Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya say lawmakers are stalling efforts to bring him back to office before a Nov. 29 election.
- November 4, 2009
- Study finds Lehigh Valley’s Hispanic students are progressing – But struggles persist in areas such as reading. Valley area review is called ‘eye-opening’ – Pennsylvania
- Hispanic Women Run for Nevada Office – Several candidates hope to alter the composition of the Nevada State Legislature. There are currently no Hispanic women serving in the legislature, but four have already announced they will run next year
- Reid Gets No GOP Support For Resolution Honoring Hispanic Media
- A soldier every 3 feet on the US/Mexico border = 6,930,880 soldiers – Immigration Anecdotes
- Stop the Deportation of the Mejia-Perez Family; Parents of a Dreamer
- In these times, cities need to do more to help day laborers
- ICE gives voice to victims of human trafficking in the United States
- Board of Immigration Appeals Rules Not to Reopen Old Deportation Cases
- Hispanics urged to make census count – Cities plan outreach to allay fears of government probing that could limit federal dollars – Chicago area
- November 2, 2009
- The 287(g) policy has become a perverted version of its original intent in Tennessee
Latest Essentials
- November 7, 2009
- MARISA TREVIÑO: She’s one blogging Latina lista to be reckoned with!
- Honduras leadership in limbo as accord dissolves
- BLS: Unemployment Rate Rose to 10.2% in October; Hispanic Unemployment at 13.1%
- November 6, 2009
- Carmen Ortiz has been confirmed as the U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Hispanic and the first woman to hold the state’s top federal prosecutor’s job.
- A Mix of Flash and Idealism at the Latin Grammys – Glitz and heart-on-sleeve emotionality mingled, every so often, with political and social messages at the 10th annual Latin Grammy Awards.
- Native American corporations, particularly an array of Alaska Native Corporations, have become major defense and homeland security contractors – responsible for a wide range of national security operations, including electronic surveillance on the border, running immigrant detention centers, and supplying security and other services in U.S. overseas wars and energy exploitation.
- Latin Grammys: Calle 13 dominates with 5 awards – “Other than Calle 13, there were no other major winners. ” – Mercedes Sosa won the prize for Best Folk Album.
- Senate Democrats Thursday blocked a GOP attempt to require next year’s census forms to ask people whether they are U.S. citizens – Vitter’s attempts fail
- November 5, 2009
- TOP Ten Latino-themed Caskets for Sale at Wal-Mart
- Low Latino voter turnout in NJ and VA elections reveal a return to the old ways
- Grassroots Effort to Oust Lou Dobbs Now 100,000 Strong – Latino leaders and their allies who are part of BastaDobbs.com vow to continue online campaign putting pressure on CNN to drop Dobbs
- Latin Grammys honors Mexican icon Juan Gabriel – The Latin music world celebrated 100 million records sold, 1,500 songs written and 30 years of recording, all by one artist, Mexico’s beloved Juan Gabriel.
- Calle 13: With the people, without a map – Calle 13 hit it big in a hurry. Unsettled by fame, MC Rene Perez set out to connect on a personal level with Latin America.
- For immigrants, illness can bring a death sentence
- The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated it is interested in hearing an appeal from business groups that, for the past two years, have been trying to have Arizona’s controversial employer-sanctions law thrown out. – The sanctions law, which punishes companies for hiring illegal immigrants and requires all Arizona employers to use a federal electronic system to verify the work status of employees, has been upheld by two lower courts.
- Cuban Tomas Regalado was elected mayor of Miami with a pledge to control spending, limit property-tax increases and curtail development
- A top Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) official confirmed that officers were conducting a training exercise at CSUN that involved members of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) earlier this semester. – Members said they were targeted and profiled by LAPD officers during their first meeting on Sept. 2. & that they were followed, harassed and intimidated by “undercover police officers” during a ceremony to welcome first-time freshmen to their organization.
- November 4, 2009
- Walking a mile in an immigrant’s moccasins – Ben Reed married Deyanira Escalona in Mexico after she was deported at LAX while en route to their planned wedding in Idaho. They live in Mexico now. “I’ve been radicalized by the whole experience,” Reed says.
- Half of American kids will live in households receiving food stamps before age 20, according to a study reported Monday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
- Friendly Fire? CNN’s Lou Dobbs Gets Called Out By CNN’s Reliable Sources
- Native Americans Profit from Abusive Immigrant Detention and Billions of Dollars in National Security Contracts
- Miriam Flores is a 42-year-old Mexican immigrant who has taken the cause of English as a second language to the nation’s highest courts.
- Child welfare workers too quick to remove Latino children from their families
- Latin Grammys aim to bring Latin music to the mainstream – After a decade, Latin music’s most important awards show still falls short of its original goals — bringing greater visibility to Latin artists and musical styles.
- The debate over health care for illegal immigrants continues to percolate in Congress despite the Obama administration’s efforts to put it to rest, with lawmakers in both houses also wrangling over how much coverage to provide for immigrants who have settled in the country legally.
- Lawrence elects Massachusetts’ first Latino mayor – William Lantigua
- November 2, 2009
- Latinos need more than lip service – Families are being torn apart by America’s broken immigration system. President Obama needs to show leadership and fix it – (the view from England)
- The Newest Face in the Late-Night Party – The arrival of “Lopez Tonight” on TBS is breaking up what Jay Leno likes to call “the parade of nine white men” on the late-night talk shows.
- A little more than 1 million people work in the illegal drug trade including “around 200,000” women, according to the COCyP association of peasant organizations, based on police estimates.
- The Strange Bedfellows of the Census Boycott
- Top 10 Reasons Not To Wear A Culturally Appropriating Halloween Costume
- ‘Drop Lou Dobbs’ Campaign Nearing 100,000 Signature Goal – need 30k more!
- Rights activists in the northern Mexican border city of Tijuana have hung 5,100 small white crosses on the fence straddling the U.S. frontier to commemorate migrants who have died trying to cross.
- Immigrant Jail Tests U.S. View of Legal Access – City Bar Justice Center is calling for all immigrant detainees to be provided with counsel.
- The Hispanic Market Is Set to Soar – The 2010 Census will radically alter the demographic map and the rules of engagement between Hispanic and general-market shops
- October 30, 2009
- Song banned, band pulls out of Luna Awards TV show – Los Tigres del Norte is initially barred from playing its latest drug-trade lyrics. – “La Granja”
- Mexican emigrants sent home $16.4 billion during the first nine months of this year, down 13.4% from the same period in 2008
- Sanchez sisters eyed by House ethics panel for alleged collusion – Linda and Loretta CA Democrats
- U.S. May Be Open to Asylum for Spouse Abuse – Immigration lawyers said the administration had taken a major step toward clarifying a murky area of asylum law and defining the legal grounds on which battered and sexually abused women in foreign countries could seek protection here.
- Did a resolution honoring Hispanic media trigger a silent boycott among the GOP?
