Risk factors that can be changed are: being overweight or obese, lack of physical activity, certain types of diets, smoking (is a higher chance of developing and even dying from colorectal cancer), and heavy alcohol abuse. Besides having risk factors that can be changed, there are some that cannot be changed. These are: being 65 and older, personal history/background, personal history of inflammatory bowel disease, and racial and ethnic background (African Americans have the highest mortality rate of colorectal cancer), people who have type 2 diabetes is also a risk factor that cannot be changed. Screening test is a way of figuring out is an individual has colorectal cancer or not. The screening test may be done with or without symptoms. Another way that one may know if they have colorectal cancer is through a physical examination with their doctor. The doctor may slip in a digital rectal examination to check for blood in the individuals stool and to see if the doctor feels any bumps or anything else that may be unusual down there. If the doctor sees or thinks that the patient may have bloody stool then he/she will order a blood test to determine if the patient has this type of cancer or …show more content…
Stage 0 is the earliest stage. In this stage the cancer is still within the mucosa, or the inner layer of the colon or rectum. In stage 1 the cancer has grown through the inner layer of the colon or the rectum but it has not yet spread beyond the wall of the rectum or the colon. Stage 2 cancer has grown through or into the wall of the colon or rectum. In stage 3 the cancer has invaded the nearby lymph nodes. And finally stage 4 the cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the liver, membrane lining the abdominal cavity, lungs, or the ovaries. After these stages, there is the recurrent stage. The recurrent stage is when the cancer has returned after the treatment. When the cancer returns it is most likely that it has effected all the other parts of the body mentioned