Colon cancer on the rise among young adults | READER COMMENTARY

Two Baltimore Orioles had colon cancer: Trey Mancini at age 27 and Ryan Minor at age 49 (“Ryan Minor, former Orioles infielder who replaced Cal Ripken Jr. to end Iron Man streak, dies from colon cancer at 49,” Dec. 22). Actor Chadwick Boseman died of this too (at age 43), and I know of two personal acquaintances under age 40 who have colon cancer.

These individual cases are part of a larger trend, a point emphasized by Dr. Jessica Felton at a recent Sinai Hospital medical conference. For reasons not known, colon cancer is on the rise among younger adults, and colorectal cancer is now the third leading cause of cancer death in men and women. That’s why any symptoms should be thoroughly evaluated and not dismissed because the person is young. That’s why the current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation is that routine screening tests should begin at age 45, instead of 50-plus. If colon cancer is found early, treatment is effective. It’s time to change our approach to this condition.

— Dan Morhaim, Pikesville