March is a great time to get ready for gardening, put together summer vacation plans … and think about protecting yourself from colorectal cancer. 

That's right. March - as you may or may not know - is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Even if you don't usually give colorectal cancer much thought, now's a good time to do so. 

You have about a 1-in-20 chance of developing colorectal cancer at some point in your life. It's one of the most common types of cancer in America, with nearly 150,000 people developing the disease last year. Many risk factors for colorectal cancer are unavoidable, like getting older or having a family history of the disease. But you can avoid other factors that put you at greater risk, such as smoking, being overweight, or having a diet heavy in red meat, processed meat, or grilled meat. 

Staying aware of colorectal cancer can help you avoid the disease in other ways. Your doctor can perform a procedure called a colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy to inspect the lining of your colon with a special instrument containing a camera and light. Colorectal cancers generally - though not always - develop over several years from a noncancerous growth called a polyp. During the procedure, your doctor can remove growths using a tool that works in conjunction with the scope. 

The American Cancer Society recommends that adults who are at average risk for colorectal cancer start having regular screening tests at particular intervals beginning at age 50. These include a colonoscopy every 10 years or a flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 years, and a test called a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), which detects hidden blood in your stool, every year.

Life Line Screening offers an FOBT that you use in your own home, which provides test results in two minutes and doesn't require handling stool samples. Testing kits are available at a Life Line Screening event near you.

Learn more about colon cancer screenings at home

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