With 130,000 new cases of colorectal cancer and 56,000 deaths anticipated in 2,000, there is no room for embarrassment or silence about colorectal cancer. The fact is, safe and effective screening is available and the place to start is with a Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT.) Colorectal cancer is second only to cancer of the lung in frequency as a killer. So it is shocking that colorectal cancer is one of the easiest to detect and treat. More than 90 percent of patients whose colorectal cancer is caught early are cured.
A promising long-term study of 46,000 people, released in March 1999 by The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, established that using a Fecal Occult Blood Test every year could prevent up to 33,000 deaths nationwide by catching and treating the disease in its early stages. The findings prompted government health officials to announce a new campaign to encourage all Americans over 50 to annually use a fecal occult blood test and led to the U.S. Senate declaring March 2000 "National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month".