Easy Ways to Reduce Your Risk of Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths every year, killing more than 50,000 people annually. This disease takes more lives than breast cancer and AIDS combined, yet it's not as highly publicized. The good news is that although common, many doctors believe that colon cancer can be prevented by living a healthy lifestyle. Here are some ways you can reduce your risk of colon cancer.

Screening
Men and women with no family history or other risk factors for colon cancer should being regular screenings at age 50. People who have a family history or other risk factors should discuss earlier screening with their medical provider. Fortunately, growths on the colon, also known as polyps, take 10 to 15 years to develop into cancer and screening can catch these growths early preventing cancer from developing.

Diet
The American Cancer Society says that diets high in vegetables and fruit reduce the risk for colon cancer, while diets high in processed foods and red meat increase the risk for cancer. Ideally, you should have 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables every day.

Exercise
Exercising at least 30 minutes a day at least five days a week helps to reduce your risk for colon cancer.

Lose Weight
If you are overweight, losing weight and then maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of colon cancer. This can be achieved by eating a healthy diet and increasing and exercising, which also happen to be two excellent ways of reducing the risk of cancer.

Vitamin Supplements
Studies show that taking folic acid, vitamin D, and calcium may decrease the risk of colon cancer. It's important to note that excessive calcium consumption is associated with prostate cancer and men are advised to keep the daily calcium intake under 1500 mg per day.

Genetic counseling
If you have a strong family history of colon cancer, your doctor may suggest genetic testing. It is said that you have a strong family history if you have at least 3 family members who have had colon cancer, one being an immediate family member.

If you are interested in helping find a cure for colon and other types of cancers, please consider a donation to the Cancer Research Institute which is included in the top rated charities according to the criteria Charity Watch.Org.

http://coloncancer.about.com/od/cancerstatistics/a/US_Death_CRC.htm
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Can_colon_and_rectum_cancer_be_prevented.asp
http://www.cancerresearch.org/
www.charitywatch.org