colon cancer symptom : Thousands diagnosed a year

In advanced stage colon cancer, the tumor has already spread beyond the wall of the intestine to nearby tissues or to distant parts of the body. The five-year survival rate for patients with colon cancer is 65 percent when it spreads beyond the intestinal wall. Only 8 percent survive after five years once the cancer spreads to other organs in the body, Bates said.

Approximately 14,100 new cases of colon cancer will be diagnosed in the state this year. About 5,270 people will die from the disease, according to 2006 California Cancer Facts & Figures.

"It's an area of the body that people don't like to discuss," she said. "We hope to change that by bringing additional attention to the problem."

Unlike most forms of cancer, however, colon cancer is preventable, said Dr. Henry Montes, radiation oncologist at St. John's Regional Hospital in Oxnard and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo.

When colon cancer is diagnosed before it spreads beyond the intestine walls, the survival rate is almost 90 percent.

"There is a possibility to significantly reduce colon cancer rates because you can remove polyps before they become cancerous tumors," Montes said. But undetected "it has the opportunity to grow many years without any symptoms. You hear a lot about mammograms for breast cancer ¿ but you don't hear a lot about screenings for colon cancer."

By the age of 50, men and women should take advantage of the colonoscopy or fecal occult blood testing, Bates said.

There could be a variety of reasons for the advanced rates of colon cancer in certain areas, including socioeconomic and access barriers, she said.

But "it's not just a matter of access," Bates said. "It's awareness on the part of people and doctors who should encourage their patients to get tested."

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, hopes to address access barriers through a bill she co-wrote with Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., introduced in the House of Representatives last week. The Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act would establish Medicare services for the development of treatment plans in the primary stages of therapy and provide a follow-up care plans for cancer survivors.

The legislation would also authorize grant programs to enhance institutions' palliative care training and symptom control and encourage medical programs to train professionals in developing curative therapies.

Capps said the data released today by the American Cancer Society and California Cancer Registry underscore the immediate need for better and more comprehensive primary care when it comes to treating all forms of cancer.

"It shows how severe the situation is," Capps said. "When you are diagnosed with cancer, it is such a confining world out there. We want to establish Medicare services and develop a treatment plan at the beginning of therapy. Up until now we have used a short-sighted approach to the problem. We need to work together in our communities to address this serious crisis in health care."

Education efforts under way

Local organizations such as the Wellness Community Valley/Ventura in Westlake Village are already leading the way in educating people about the importance of colon cancer screening and tests for other cancers. The Wellness Community is a national nonprofit organization that provides a wide array of services for cancer patients, survivors and their families.

The organization has recently completed videos in English and Spanish about colorectal, breast, prostate and cervical cancers, program director Marty Nason said. The group also holds 30 different programs, including weekly support groups and mind and body stress reduction workshops.

Jim Warren took advantage of the services offered at the Wellness Community. Now that his colon cancer is in remission, he is helping others by volunteering his time at the center and sharing his own experience with colon cancer.

"I tell people they have to realize that cancer is not painful until it is very advanced," Warren said. "When you turn 50, go get a colonoscopy. In hindsight, I wish I would have gotten it sooner."

By Marjorie Hernandez