SNOHOMISH — “She has a tumor.”
Through the fog of anesthesia, Shelly Eckel thought she heard those chilling words as she recovered from her first-ever colonoscopy.
Eckel, 51, did indeed have a tumor, about the size of a quarter.
“The doctor said, ‘Do you know what colon cancer is?’ It was a little bit scary at that point,” the Snohomish resident recalled.
Barely a month later, though, Eckel was cancer-free following a short daytime surgery, and has begun urging family and friends to get colonoscopies as soon as possible. She felt healthy, although she noticed a little bleeding in her stool.
Colon cancer is the third most common type of cancer in both men and women, and the second-biggest killer among cancers for both sexes. If detected soon enough, however, doctors say 60 percent of colon cancer deaths can be prevented.
“I would like to see more patients like Shelly,” said Dr. Viad Simianu, the colorectal surgeon at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health who removed Eckel’s tumor. “We like to see cancer caught early.”
Beginning at age 50, medical professionals advise getting regular colonoscopies or stool screening tests. In recent years they have recommended starting sooner.
“They’re now calling 45 the new 50,” Simianu said.
About 20% of all new colon cancer patients are younger than 55, according to the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer cases in people under age 55 jumped from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019.
Colon cancer, in fact, is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men younger than 50, and third-leading cause for women.
Broadway actor Quentin Oliver Lee (age 34) and “Black Panther” film star Chadwick Boseman (age 43) both died of colon cancer in the past two years.
The good news is survival rates are higher than ever, thanks in part to advances in treatment. The relative survival rate at least five years after diagnosis has risen from 50% in the mid-1970s to 65% in the mid-2010s.
Doctors find something on a first colonoscopy or home-stool screening about half the time, said Simianu. Usually, though, it is a pre-cancerous polyp that is easily treatable.
About a third of patients diagnosed with cancer are in stage one, like Eckel was. The other two-thirds face radiation and chemotherapy – and lower survival rates.
Many patients fear surgery, but Simianu said technology makes it minimally invasive with a low risk of complications.
“We do this day in and day out. We’re there to make sure it goes smoothly,” he said.
Eckel said her procedure, a two- to three-hour operation, went off without a hitch.
Eckel says people 45 and older should not wait to start screening for colon cancer — especially if they have a family history of cancer, which Eckel didn’t.
“I was very healthy, I thought. I’m very good about my annual checkups,” Eckel said.
For those who shudder at getting a colonoscopy, free home stool-sample kits are available.
“The best test,” said Simianu, “is the one you’re willing to do.”
What might clue me in I have it?
Medical experts say these factors
increase your risk of colorectal cancer:
• Lack of regular physical activity
• A diet low in fruit and vegetables, a low-fiber and high-fat diet, or a diet high in processed meats
• Being overweight or obese
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Tobacco use
Some signs you may have colorectal cancer are:
• Abdomen feels tender or painful
• Blood in the poop
• Having lots of constipation or diarrhea
• Fatigue and weakness
• Narrow poops
• Weight loss for no reason
