Colon cancer steadily decreasing, according to new reports

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) - New reports suggest that colon cancer has seen a steady decrease over the past two decades.

According to the reports, colon cancer has declined roughly 2.7 percent every year, despite an increase in characteristics that that are linked to the cancer, such as obesity and high meat consumption. Many officials credit the decline to more people getting screened for the cancer.

However, while the overall number of colon cancer cases have gone down, they have gone up in men between the ages of 20 and 45.

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic said that doesn't necessarily mean everyone should get tested earlier, but everyone should know the signs.

"Young people are not exempt from having colon cancer and so we don't necessarily have to go and screen everybody at a younger age as of now, but we really have to pay attention to any changes in the clinical presentations of the patient so that we can act on it appropriately," said Mayo Clinic Health System's Dr. Daisy Batista.

Batista said said some of the signs of colon cancer to watch for include blood in the stool and change in bowel habits.