Have you ever wondered what the inside of your colon looks like?
March is National Colo-Rectal Cancer Month and St. Elizabeth Healthcare recently invited the community to take a tour through a colossal colon (or COCO for short). It shows risks that raise the odds of being diagnosed with colon cancer.
COCO is 40-feet long and 4′ tall. It was set up in the lobby at St. Elizabeth Edgewood, where St. Elizabeth’s Cancer Care Center is located. Local 12 News got the chance to walk through it on Wednesday, March 22. Click here to watch the tour.
Cancer care specialists said it was a great way to get people talking about the things they need to talk about (but often don’t).
“We are just trying to show people what can happen in your colon … Nine out of ten colon cancers can be prevented if you get your check ups,” said Felicity Schroder, a nurse at the Cancer Care Center.
For people walking through, they will see signs that share information about common conditions in the colon. Click here to read about colon cancer warning signs.
If you are worried about the warning signs or know you have a family history with the disease, St. Elizabeth encourages you to talk to a healthcare provider about your concerns.
Normally colon cancer screenings are recommended at age 50. However, a recent study showed that younger men and women, sometimes as young as 20 and 30 years old, are at a higher risk of developing the disease.
