The National Cancer Institute has launched a campaign to sensitize people aged 50 to 74 years to screen for colorectal cancer every two years.
Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly cancer in France after lung cancer, and the third most common cancer. It hit close to 43,000 people in France in 2015 and killed 17,500. The most at risk are men and women over 50 years of age. The good news is that the sooner this cancer is detected, the higher the chances of cure (9 cases out of 10) and the lower the treatments.
That's why the National Cancer Institute (INCa) has launched a new information campaign aimed at the general public and healthcare professionals on colorectal cancer screening. The aim is to encourage people between the ages of 50 and 74 to have a screening test every two years. A courier sent home to their people will advise them to consult a treating physician, who will provide them with a free test. Easy to do at home, painlessly, it can detect the presence of blood in the stool. If the result is positive, as in 4% of cases, the doctor will offer you to perform a colonoscopy.
Medium risk or high risk
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor, more precisely a polyp, which is formed slowly, sometimes for about ten years, on the mucosa of the colon or rectum. When it gets too big, it can turn into cancer. Blood in the stool indicates the presence of a precancerous lesion or cancer, and colonoscopy removes these lesions or tumors.
The level of risk is assessed as "average" in people over the age of 50, and "high" in those who, even before age 50, have a personal or family history of colon or rectum disease. Screening and follow-up of these patients will be adjusted by the attending physician.