HONOLULU (KHON2) -- March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and those 45 years and older should consider getting screened for colon cancer. There is a long list of excuses and reasons for putting off the inconvenient procedure, but Dr. Nour Hamade, gastroenterologist at the Queen’s Medical Center, explained how these excuses could be hazardous to your health. Ask A Specialist: Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Excuse #1: I feel fine and healthy, with no stomach pain or bleeding, so why do I need a colonoscopy? “Unfortunately, colon cancer doesn’t always have symptoms, so by the time that things do develop, typically, the disease is advanced. We want to catch the disease early because that’s when we can treat it best, with up to a 90% survival rate. If caught in later stages, that decreases to as low as 14%,” said Dr. Hamade. Excuse #2: No one in my family has had colon cancer. “It’s true that a family history can increase your risk for colon cancer. But even 70 to 80% of people with no family history can develop colon cancer. So, we recommend screening for everyone starting at age 45,” Dr. Hamade advised. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Excuse #3: The preparation is time-consuming and uncomfortable. “It will only take one day to prepare for the procedure. You will be on a clear liquid diet for that day. We do have a number of different preparations that we can offer, so just discuss that with your physician to determine something that is appropriate for you. I do want to stress that it’s very important to do the prep very well because it’s important for us to visualize the colon adequately,” Hamade said. Excuse #4: Colonoscopies are for older adults. “While colon cancer does increase with age, newer research is showing that actually colon cancer is increasing in younger individuals. One in three people who are diagnosed with colon cancer are actually younger than 55 years old. So that is why the new guidelines actually decreased the age from 50 to 45 for us to start screening,” said Hamade. Ask A Specialist: Calcium Score Test Excuse #5: Only men get colon cancer. “I think actually, the rates are pretty equal. In 2025, we are estimating that 80,000 individuals are going to be diagnosed with colon cancer, 40,000 of those are going to be women.” Excuse #6: I’m too busy to take time off from work. “I know we’re all busy these days, but this is important for your health, and it should be a priority. Essentially, taking that time to take care of yourself and getting screened so that we can catch things early will ultimately be more beneficial for you in the long run. Because if we can catch the disease early then the treatment is less invasive and less time consuming as opposed to catching it at a more advanced stage,” Dr. Hamade said. Check out more news from around Hawaii To learn more about the services provided by the Queen’s Colon Screening Program, call (808) 691-8270. ...read more read less