Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Spring 2018

6 DignityHealth.org/central-california | Spring 2018 Love it or hate it, 50 is a milestone birthday. And you may not realize it, but it’s a milestone for your health too. It’s the age when most adults should start getting screened for colon cancer. This screening can not only detect cancer but also prevent it. In other words, it saves lives. If everybody 50 or older had regular screening tests, the number of U.S. deaths from colon cancer would be greatly reduced. Here’s why: Colon cancer usually starts from abnormal growths, called polyps, in the colon or rectum. Over time, some polyps turn into cancer. Screening tests can find polyps. Doctors can then remove them, stopping cancer from ever developing. Screening tests can also find colon cancer early, before it causes symptoms. And that’s when treatment works best. PREVENTING COLON CANCER Know your options Learn the latest What’s new in colorectal cancer treatment? Watch the video with Bakersfield surgeon Lorenc Malellari, MD, at dignityhealth.org/ bakersfield/roboticsurgery .