NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — During the month of March, a spotlight is put on colorectal cancer Awareness. Did you know there are three main hot spots in the nation? A report from Sentara Health stated that Appalachia, The lower Mississippi Delta and Hampton Roads (eastern Virginia/North Carolina,) re present those locations. This creates a slightly higher risk for the Tidewater area, according to Sentara Health Community Health Educator Betsy Carroll. An alarming statistic released by the National Cancer Institute states this form of cancer is the leading cause of death in people ages 20 to 49. Primary reasons colon cancer is affecting younger patient populations is lack of knowledge surrounding gastrointestinal diseases and simply not getting checked. "You really want to pay attention to your family history, of course, and your actual medical history," Carroll said. "Colon cancer screenings should start at 45 for anyone. Now, if let's say that you're my mother and you had colon cancer at age 40, that means I should start getting screened at age 30. So it's usual rule of thumb is 10 years before the diagnosis that a child should start being screened." Other factors to be considered as the cases for young people climb are the food they consume. Your diet contributes heavily to your cancer risk. "So, in general, your fruits and vegetables, reducing the processed meats, red meats and just eating as clean as possible," Carroll says." And I don't mean that everything has to be organic, but there are some list of things like strawberries, apples, things like that to get organic because they usually use more pesticides in the commercial growing." Not having access to health insurance is another major issue, but Carroll said there are free screening options available. For those without health insurance, it is a huge disparity," she said. "We work on that a lot as cancer community health educators. We're out in the community having screenings out there for those that are uninsured. So that is one way. And it's not a colonoscopy, but it's something that is going to check for blood in your stool or DNA changes." Colon cancer is also the second-leading cause of death, not just in men but women as well. And it is rising among women. What makes the disease so intricate is that the most common symptom is no symptom at all, according to Carroll. However, it's possible to have indistinct symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation or blood in the stool. There's only one route to take to know for sure, and that's to get screened. How you prep two or three days before a colonoscopy sets the tone for how smooth the procedure will go, which starts with a bland diet and liquids. If no polyps are found, you would not need to get checked again until after a five-year period. "The colonoscopy, again, is the gold standard for any type of colon cancer screening," she said. "It's pretty quick, only about 30 minutes. If there were any polyps — and a polyp is like a small little area on the colon — that they can kind of clip and get rid of right away, then they do it right there." The majority of all prep items can be found over the counter, with some doctor recommended. Carroll suggests items like Gatorade, chicken broth, apple juice and select laxatives. For more information on colorectal cancer, visit the American Cancer Society's website here. ...read more read less