Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in New York. In 2011, nearly 10,000 new cases of colon cancer were diagnosed in New York State, and about 2,900 died of the disease.
It doesn’t need to be. The earlier colon cancer is found the better the chances of survival. The good news is that more people in New York are taking advantage of screening tools available; but a large percentage are still finding their colon cancers at a later stage. In New York, many colon cancers are still being detected at later stages when survival rates are lower.