Published on March 10, 2025
Healthy Tips Video: March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
Video Transcript
Happy March. I'm Ann, a registered dietitian at the Owensboro Health Healthpark. This month, we at Owensboro Health spotlight both National Nutrition Month and Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Initiatives to educate the public on making more conscious nutrition choices and reducing cancer risk certainly intersect in my field.
So today, I'd like to share some lifestyle tips to help you reduce your colorectal cancer risk. Colorectal cancer is a disease of the colon, sometimes called the large intestines or last segment of the gastrointestinal tract. In the average adult, this organ is about six feet in length and tasked with absorbing an average of 1.5 liters of fluid per day plus electrolytes.
The colon also contains numerous microorganisms that make up the gut microbiome and impact your immunity. Did you know that colorectal cancer has become the third most commonly diagnosed form of cancer, with cases more than doubling between 1990 and 2019? Among those under the age of 50, colorectal cancer prevalence has increased 13% since the year 2000.
And while these statistics are alarming, I have good news. There are several measures you can take today to reduce your risk of developing this disease. A growing body of research demonstrates that lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical inactivity, frequent intake of red and processed meat, and excessive alcohol use beyond the recommended one drink per day for women and two for men increase colorectal cancer risk.
While other practices have protective benefits, such as adequate calcium intake, incorporation of omega-3 fats into the diet, and daily consumption of dietary fiber from whole plant food, with the goal of 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. This March, when planning your daily activities, or just selecting your meals, I challenge you to consider how you can incorporate some of these lifestyle principles to improve the overall health of your colon.
Need some guidance or don't know quite where to start? Come see us at the Healthpark's Health Resource Center, where our dietitians can teach you how to add more fiber to your diet, balance your macronutrient consumption patterns, create more nutritious meals, and even connect you with an exercise physiologist or tobacco treatment specialist to help you achieve your health-related goals this year. For more information, please give our Health Resource Center a call at 270-688-4804.
About Owensboro Health
Owensboro Health is a nonprofit health system with a mission to heal the sick and to improve the health of the communities it serves in Kentucky and Indiana. The system includes Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, nationally recognized for design, architecture and engineering; Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital; Owensboro Health Twin Lakes Medical Center; the Owensboro Health Medical Group comprised of over 350 providers at more than 30 locations; three outpatient Healthplex facilities, a certified medical fitness facility, the Healthpark; a weight management program, and the Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center.
On average each year, we have more than 19,000 inpatient admissions, deliver 2,000 babies and provide the region’s only Level III NICU. Owensboro Health physicians perform nearly 33,000 surgical procedures, including nearly 150 open-heart surgeries. Our physicians and staff have 90,000 Emergency Department visits and more than 1.25 million outpatient visits annually. Visit our home page for more information.