Gastrointestinal Cancer Center

Know Your Level of Risk for Colorectal Cancer

What are you waiting for? Talk to your doctor today about getting screened for colorectal cancer. The odds of surviving are almost 100 percent if the disease is caught in its earliest stages. Being older than 50 or having a family history of colorectal cancer means you should get regular screenings. Keep in mind that while some risks for the disease can't be controlled, you can do something to help protect yourself by eating healthy, getting screened and exercising.

Call your doctor right away if you experience:

• A decrease in appetite
• Vomiting
• Weakness and feeling tired
• Cramping or a gnawing stomach pain
• Blood in the stool
• A prolonged change in bowel habits

Even though these symptoms are similar to other everyday ailments, they are often the sign of a far greater problem.

Whether it is a colonoscopy, blood testing or advanced genetic testing to identify the presence of mutations in the MLH1 or MSH2 genes, the physicians at The Cooper Cancer Institute offer the latest in diagnostic and treatment options. And because they are also faculty members at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, these treatments are administered by the very people advancing this field of medicine.

To make an appointment for a screening or to be referred to a Cooper University Physician, please call 1-800-8-COOPER (800-826-6737) for more information.