One of the key purposes of March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month is to encourage people to get screenings to see if they have the disease. Nurse Lynn Fisher of Washington County Public Health says yearly screenings are important because often times people don’t display symptoms of colorectal cancer until it’s too late. Symptoms that do occur – which include blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, or unexplained abdominal pain – are common symptoms in other illnesses and disorders, such as Crohn’s Disease. Fisher says the screening process, while often invasive, is the best way to detect colorectal cancer early.

The primary procedure to check for colorectal cancer is a colonoscopy. While an invasive procedure that requires laxative preparation, colonoscopies allow doctors to see inside the colon and find pollups or cancerous growths. However, Fisher says there are take-home kits that test for colorectal cancer, which can be an alternative if people have serious reservations about colonoscopies. She explains, “It’s important to talk about all that with your health care provider, and find out, ‘What’s the best test for me now?’ Or, ‘Should I start with these kits, and when I reach a certain age, switch to colonoscopy?’ It’s really important conversations to have with your provider.” To hear more about colorectal cancer, listen to the In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with Fisher at KCIIRadio.com.