Carole Reisinger and her husband Rick. By Rick Thiesse Carole Reisinger’s body was telling a story that nobody would ever want to hear. "It started last February when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Thanks to the medical staff at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, five days later, I had a 9-by-5-centimeter tumor removed," says Carole Reisinger. But it was during that surgery the second story was about to be told. "In the process of that surgery, the surgeons noticed my colon was inflamed and had a thickening of the wall.  After speaking with the physicians a few days late ..read more

By Mayo Clinic staff When you think about obesity, you may not connect it to cancer. However, researchers have long suspected a link between certain cancers and weight. Among those are endometrial, ovarian, colon, liver, pancreatic and postmenopausal breast cancers, which together contribute to 15 to 20% of all cancer deaths in the U.S. Cancer risk increases with obesity More than one-third of adults in the U.S. are considered obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. BMI is the measure of body fat of body fat based on weight and height. The number of peopl ..read more

By Robin Huiras-Carlson When Linda Hasadsri, M.D., Ph.D. (they/them/she/her), began a Mayo Clinic fellowship in Clinical Molecular Genetics after completing training in Clinical Biochemical Genetics, they never imagined the genetic tests they were helping develop would be the same tests that guided their life’s journey. But just after starting the fellowship, Dr. Hasadsri’s personal and professional worlds collided, giving them a dual role as patient and physician. Now the director of the Molecular Technologies Laboratory in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and p ..read more

Sally Blackwell with her husband, Christopher Blackwell. Editor's note: March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Consider sharing this story to raise awareness of the increasing incidence of rectal cancer in younger people. By Mayo Clinic staff Sally Blackwell was pregnant with her second child when she began noticing symptoms she initially brushed off as nothing. She was experiencing constipation. She wasn't gaining weight during the pregnancy. She figured the lack of weight gain had to be because she wasn't doing the daily Chick-fil-A runs she did during her first pregnancy. It ..read more

Editor's note: March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Consider sharing this article to raise awareness of the increasing rate of colon and rectal cancer in younger people and the importance of knowing the symptoms and getting screened. By Nicole Brudos Ferrara Colorectal cancer is no longer a disease of older people. People in their 50s, 40s and younger are increasingly being diagnosed with cancers of the colon and rectum. Incidence rates increased by about 2% per year in people younger than 50 during the past decade, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2019, 20% of colorec ..read more

February is National Cancer Prevention Month. Consider sharing this article to raise awareness about the importance of screenings to prevent cancer or catch it early. By Deb Balzer According to a recent study by the American Cancer Society, cancer is a leading cause of death among those of Hispanic heritage living in the U.S. Hispanic and Latino people are less likely to be diagnosed with lung, colon, breast and prostate cancers than non-Hispanic white men and women. Jesse Bracamonte, D.O., a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says preventive screenin ..read more

By Laurel Kelly Cancer in the colon and cancer in the rectum, often referred to together as colorectal cancer, is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the U.S. excluding skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Among the risk factors that can increase your risk of colorectal cancer are certain genetic syndromes, including familial adenomatous polyposis. This is a rare condition caused by a defect in the adenomatous polyposis coli gene. Most people inherit the gene from a parent, but for 25% to 30% of people, the genetic mutat ..read more

By Kelley Luckstein Researchers from Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have discovered new genetic markers to identify Lynch syndrome-associated colorectal cancer with high accuracy. Studies are underway to determine if these genetic markers are in stool samples and, if so, how this could lead to a non-invasive screening option for people with Lynch syndrome. Their research was published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. "This is an exciting find ..read more

By Deb Balzer Colorectal cancer is a cancer of the lower digestive system, which includes the colon and the rectum. The fourth most common cancer in the U.S., diagnosis rates have been dropping for older adults while increasing for adults younger than 50. Screening can help prevent colorectal cancer by catching colorectal polyps before they develop into cancer.  Did you know there's more than one option for colorectal cancer screening? That's only if you don't have bowel issues and are of average risk. Watch this "Mayo Clinic Minute" video to hear Johanna Chan, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastr ..read more

By Deb Balzer More younger adults are being diagnosed with colon cancer  — also known as colorectal cancer — and at more advanced stages of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. It's a trend experts have seen over the last decade. Colon cancer symptoms usually don't appear in early stages of the disease and when they do, they are often at an advanced stage. Johanna Chan, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, says it's important to recognize colon cancer symptoms and to seek medical attention if you experience them. Watch this vi ..read more