The Denver Post | Colon cancer is increasing in younger Coloradoans even as death rate drops
Colorectal cancer was the top cause of cancer death for people under 55 in Colorado, killing 88 people in that age group in 2023, followed by brain cancers and breast cancer, according to provisional data. Deaths from breast cancer have fallen since the start of the millennium, while deaths from brain cancers, which have no screening option, have bounced around over the years. Between 2000 and 2004, an average of 76 people under 55 of colon cancer in Colorado died. From 2019 to 2023, that average was 100. Nationwide, more than 27,000 people under 55 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2020 and more than 6,500 people in that age group died that year. More recent data isn’t yet available…“It really shows the power and the impact of colonoscopies,” said Dr. Christopher Lieu, co-lead of the gastrointestinal oncology program at UCHealth. Colonoscopies allow doctors to detect colorectal cancer at an earlier stage, and to snip out polyps before they have a chance to turn cancerous.