March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Spectrum Health is prepping for its 33rd annual Irish Jig, 5-K race. The Jig has grown to be one of Michigan’s premier 5K events raising awareness about colorectal cancer prevention and treatment. WGVU talks with a local doctor about colon cancer prevention and the Irish Jig.
“The one thing is, it’s completely preventable if patients are screened appropriately.
That’s Doctor Donald Kim, Colorectal surgeon with Spectrum Health Medical Group. As part of March being colon cancer awareness month, he’s helping get the word out about taking preventative action.
“Women are always getting their mammograms, men, plus or minus the prostate, but colon, sometimes is not always thought of.”
One reason says Dr. Kim is that one of the main tests, the colonoscopy, is not one that most find appealing… so they put it off. He says screening for colon cancer are not being done at the rates that they should. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the U.S. and the second leading when you combine both men and women.
“The idea is to catch the polyps early, when you’re 50, rather than waiting any longer and there’s nothing more frustrating and you’re doing a colonoscopy on someone at 60, and they just happen to put it off, and instead of a moderate size polyp, now you’re dealing with cancer.”
Dr. Kim says 50 is the standard age to start screening, but could be earlier depending on family history and other factors. He also mentions, there are other tests out there in addition to the colonoscopy, like stool DNA and blood testing.
One of the efforts sponsored by Spectrum Health to get the word out and spread awareness is the 33rd Annual Irish Jig 5 K race coming up this Saturday. Its goal is to raise awareness about colorectal cancer prevention and treatment. You can register online at spectrum health.org/irishjig.
