Colorectal cancer is cancer that begins as a polyp, a noncancerous growth, that has the potential to turn into cancer if left untreated. At Hunterdon Digestive Health Specialists, Dr. Anubha Sinha provides her patients with colon cancer screenings at her Flemington and Hillsborough, NJ, office.
More About Colorectal Cancer
The risk of colorectal cancer increases with age, usually occurring in people over 50. Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in men and women in the United States, according to The American Cancer Society, which estimates more than 53,000 deaths in 2020.
Risk factors vary from one person to another and while the risk increases as you age, anyone of any age can develop colorectal cancer. You do not need to have a family history and men are slightly more susceptible to getting colorectal cancer than women. African Americans are slightly more at risk as well, and your lifestyle and medical history play a major role:
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Choose to eat healthily because consuming too many meats, processed foods, and barely any fruits and vegetables without exercising leads to obesity.
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Smoking, chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, having a history of certain types of cancers (breast, testicular, and prostate), and suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD increases your risk of colorectal cancer.
What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer?
- Blood in the stool
- A change in bowel habits (constipation, thin stools, anal leakage)
- Feeling like you haven't completely emptied your bowels
- Abdominal pain, cramping and bloating
- Unintentional weight loss, iron deficiency anemia, and unexplained fatigue
- Fevers, chills, and night sweats
- Back pain that keeps you up at night
Colon Cancer Screenings in Flemington and Hillsborough
People 50 years of age and older should be screened. If your family history shows colon cancer, or you have polyps, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s disease, or another inherited disease, you should get a cancer screening sooner.
There are several different screening tests available including stool studies to examine blood, stool DNA tests, sigmoidoscopy, a colonoscopy, and a virtual colonoscopy.
Who to Contact for a Colon Cancer Screening
At Hunterdon Digestive Health Specialists, Dr. Anubha Sinha can help her Flemington and Hillsborough, NJ, patients. If you'd like to learn more about colon cancer screenings or would like to schedule an appointment, call her office at 908-788-8200.