In recognition of Colorectal Cancer  Awareness Month, the Connecticut Cancer Partnership is encouraging Connecticut citizens to get screened. Colorectal cancer (commonly referred to as colon cancer) is one of only two cancers that can actually be prevented through screening, which allows doctors to find polyps in the colon and remove them before they turn cancerous.

            Screening for colon cancer has been proven to reduce deaths from the disease both by decreasing the number of people who are diagnosed with it and by finding a higher proportion of cancers at early, more treatable stages. Overall, colon cancer rates have declined rapidly in both men and women in the past two decades, due in part to early detection and removal of precancerous polyps. However, only half of the U.S. population aged 50 and older have been tested.