Dear Editor:
Although March is quickly coming to a close, the awareness of colon cancer is still very critical, and should be ongoing. Colon cancer is largely preventable if precancerous polyps are found and removed before they become cancerous. If colon cancer is found and treated at its earliest stage, the five-year survival rate is 90-percent.
On a national scale, in 2007, an estimated 112,340 Americans were diagnosed with colon cancer and 41,420 with rectal cancer. More than 52,000 people were expected to die from the disease last year.
In Hudson County alone, 48 people are diagnosed, while 20 people die of cancer each week. Colorectal cancer accounts for over 12-percent of all cancer cases and over 11-percent of all cancer deaths. Fewer people die of this cancer each year because of early screening & early detection.
Learn more about preventing colon cancer, finding it early, two common tests explained, and more at www.cancer.org.
YOU can help the fight. Hoboken’s Relay for Life will take place on Pier A on May 17, 2008. Relay for Life raises awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society and the services it provides in our community.
To date, Hoboken’s Relay for Life and its over 200 participants have raised over $30,000. Cancer has affected just about everyone’s lives, either directly or through loved ones. We need your help in this fight against Cancer: Hoboken Relay for Life is May 17.
For more information, to donate or to join a team, visit www.events.cancer.org/rflhobokennj.
Bob Buhowski