March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States – and the lifetime risk for developing this disease is approximately 1 in 23 for men and 1 in 25 for women.1 A 2016 study published in the journal Cancer, found that 1 in 7 colorectal diagnoses are in people who are younger than the age of 50, most of which have advanced stages of the disease.2 Take our quiz to learn more about the signs, risks and incidence rates of colorectal cancer.
This quiz was updated on March 7, 2019 to reflect new colorectal cancer statistics and screening guidelines from the American Cancer Society .
1. Which of these is not a common symptom of colorectal cancer? 3
2. True or False: People younger than 50 do not need to worry about their risks for colorectal cancer.4
3. Colorectal cancer is the ____ most common cancer in the United States. 5
4. According to the American Cancer Society, how many colorectal cancer diagnoses are expected this year?6
5. Which of these is a common risk factor for colorectal cancer?6
6. According to the American Cancer Society, there has been a ___ % decline in colorectal cancer diagnosis in people over 50.7
7. Which test is used to screen for colorectal cancer?4
References
1 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2019. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2019. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2019/cancer-facts-and-figures-2019.pdf. Accessed Feb. 2, 2019.
2 Abdelsattar, Z. M., Wong, S. L., Regenbogen, S. E., Jomaa, D. M., Hardiman, K. M. and Hendren, S. (2016), Colorectal cancer outcomes and treatment patterns in patients too young for average-risk screening. Cancer. doi: 10.1002/cncr.29716
3 American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Signs and Symptoms;2018. Available at https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/signs-and-symptoms.html#references. Accessed Feb 2, 2019
4 American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society Guideline for Colorectal Cancer Screening; 2018. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/acs-recommendations.html. Accessed Feb. 2, 2019.
5 American Cancer Society. Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer; 2019. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Accessed Feb. 2, 2019.
6 American Cancer Society. Colorectal Cancer Risk Factors; 2018. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html. Accessed Feb 2, 2019.
7 Ahnen, D. J., Barzi, A., Fedewa S. A. (2017), Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2017, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Doi: 0.3322/caac.2139. Accessed Feb. 2, 2019.5