- It is estimated that 1 in 16 Canadian men and 1 in 18 Canadian women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime
- On average, 66 Canadians are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every day
- The risk of developing colorectal cancer seems to increase as birth cohorts get progressively younger, and people born in the early 1990s are at almost three times the risk of developing colon cancer as their parents and grandparents
- Colorectal cancer is the 2^nd leading cause of death in men and the 3^rd leading cause of death in women
- Signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer include rectal bleeding, change in bowel habits, abdominal pain, weight loss, and anemia, among others, but many people experience no symptoms whatsoever. That is why screening is so vital!
- Of all the different types of cancer in Canada, colorectal cancer rates are declining the fastest. This is due to increased awareness of symptoms and increased rates of screening
- Risk factors include having a family or personal history of colorectal cancer, being over the age of 50, having inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis, or having inherited genetic syndromes such as Lynch syndrome
- With proper screening and early treatment, colorectal cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable!

A research study based in Austria suggests that people who have had high risk polyps discovered on screening colonoscopy are also at increased risk of developing liver cancer in the future. Polyps that are greater than 10mm, adenomas with high grade dysplasia, serrated adenomas with dysplasia, or 5 or more adenomas meet the definition of "high risk” and increase a patient’s risk of developing colon cancer in the future if regular surveillance isn’t carried out. Now, it appears that patients who have had high risk polyps at screening colonoscopy go on to experience a liver cancer mortality rate that is more than twice as high as that of their peers who have had a negative screening colonoscopy. While it is clear that liver and colon cancer share some common risk factors, there are currently no targeted combined screening and surveillance programs. 

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