March 3, 2025 – (EAST TEXAS) – CHRISTUS Health recognizes National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March by providing crucial information about the second–deadliest cancer in the U.S. that can be detected early with screenings.
Current guidelines recommend that people start regular screenings at age 45.
Dr. Kai Xia, chief of the department of gastroenterology for CHRISTUS Health Northeast Texas, says that anyone with additional risk factors such as immediately family history of cancer, a personal history of colon polyps, or anyone with chronic gastrointestinal diseases such as Crohn’s Disease or colitis should consult their physician about earlier screenings.
“We know it is a preventable disease through a screening colonoscopy for detection and removal of precancerous polyps, which is why we so highly encourage those screenings,” Xia said. “Early detection is critical as it has been proven to lead to much higher positive results.”
A colonoscopy is performed while a patient is sedated. A colonoscope, which is a small, lighted camera attached to the end of a long, thin, flexible tube called a catheter, is inserted through the anus and advanced through the colon to the end. While advancing, the catheter pumps air into the colon to inflate it and the camera transmits video of inside the colon to a monitor.
Xia said that some at-home tests are available, but that the screening colonoscopy remains the “gold standard.”
“The screening colonoscopy is all about prevention, whereas the at-home tests can only detect precancerous polyps and early-stage colon cancer,” she said. “It is why all of the American medical societies recommend that anyone who can get the screening colonoscopy does so.”
More than 150,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are expected this year, according to the American Cancer Society, which also notes that thanks to increased screenings, incident rates in older adults are trending downwards.
Xia said it is important to raise awareness for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month so people can take the necessary steps to catch colon cancer early and to help save lives.
To learn more about colorectal cancer and screenings, consult your physician or visit www.christushealth.org.
###
