Healthy Colorado: Colorectal cancer rising in younger generation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- New research shows that more young Americans are being diagnosed with advanced colon cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, the proportion of colorectal cancer in people under age 55 doubled between 1995 and 2019 from 11% to 20%. That works out to roughly 1.3 million people in the U.S. living with it right now.
Not only is the number troubling, but doctors say more cases diagnosed are at an advanced stage and researchers aren't exactly sure what's causing the cancers. People born after 1990, millennials and Gen Zers, are twice as likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and fourfold more likely to get rectal cancer compared to people born in 1950, a 2017 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found.
And researchers found in a 2021 Journal of the American Medical Association study, that in just seven years, colorectal cancer will be the leading cause of cancer deaths in people ages 20-49.
Doctors say known lifestyle risk factors include higher rates of obesity, younger people living more sedentary lifestyles than they used to, and eating diets rich in sugars and processed foods all likely contributing to the uptick.
Some studies suggest that people can reduce their risk of developing colorectal cancer by staying active, limiting alcohol and tobacco, and getting your regular health and cancer screenings. Putting those off can be especially concerning as this type of cancer is often asymptomatic for many people.
