Whos At Risk - Chapter 7 Colon Cancer Whos At Risk: Cancer
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Who's at risk?
A number of factors increase your risk for colon cancer. Some you can control; others are beyond your control but should alert you that you may be more at risk.
Factors that increase your risk of colon cancer over which you have no control include:
Age. The older you are, the greater your risk of developing colon cancer. The disease usually occurs after age 50.
Family history. If your mother, father, or siblings have had either benign polyps or colon cancer, you have a higher risk of developing this disease. Genes are passed from one generation to the next, and some colon cancers are caused by mutations that can be inherited.
Inflammatory bowel disease. If you have had an inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis for more than 10 years, your risk of colon cancer increases. Inflammatory bowel disease swells the colon. As cells multiply too quickly, they have a greater chance of being damaged.
Height. If you are tall, you have an increased risk of developing colon cancer (as well as an increased risk of breast or prostate cancer), although the reasons for this are not altogether clear.
| Risk factors for colon cancer |
| Risk factors you cannot control age family medical history inflammatory bowel disease height |
| Risk factors you can control red meat consumption being overweight alcohol consumption sedentary lifestyle diet low in vegetables |
| Last updated: | May 01, 2008 |
|---|
Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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