* Cases of colon cancer are rising in younger people.
* Certain lifestyle factors can help reduce the risk of developing the disease.
* Dr. Michael Shusterman, a gastrointestinal oncologist, does these three easy things to help lower his risk.
Colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in US men under 50 and the second deadliest cancer for women of the same age.
Rates of the disease have been rising in younger people since the ’90s, according to the American Cancer Society, and the total medical cost of colorectal-cancer care in the US was $24.3 billion in 2020, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While experts still don’t know exactly what’s behind the uptick in cases, and certain factors such as genetics are out of our control, there are some lifestyle choices that could lower the risk of developing colon cancer, Dr. Michael Shusterman, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center on Long Island, told Business Insider. Continue reading