Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in New York City. Behind the harshness of this statistical data, there are particularities that Hispanic communities must know before it is too late.
As highlighted this week by the NYC Public Hospitals Corporation (Health + Hospitals), “when this pathology is detected at an early stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is approximately 90 percent. However, only 4 out of 10 colon cancers are detected early.”
Now, when National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month is commemorated, it has also become clear in some national registries, an account that should call Hispanic communities to reflection: although Latino men and women have almost the same risk of suffering of this disease, if compared to whites, unfortunately they usually face it when the disease has already advanced.
In this direction, data from the American Cancer Society confirm that although “in general 5-year survival for colorectal cancer is similar in Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites (64% compared to 65%, respectively), Hispanic men and women are slightly less likely to be diagnosed early with a localized disease compared to non-Hispanic whites, 33% versus 35%, respectively.
“If you are between 45 and 75 years old, get screened for colon cancer,” encourages Nichola Davis, vice president and director of population health at NYC Health + Hospitals.
Five-year survival for Hispanic patients diagnosed at an early stage is 90%, decreasing to 71% and 15% for those diagnosed at late stages.
Live-saving ‘tests’ available in NYC
Projections from the American Cancer Society in New York suggest that at least 2,700 people will die from this pathology in 2024 and 8,780 new cases will be detected.
There are other findings around these follow-ups: there is a growth in the country in the incidence of this type of cancer in very young people, for whom the protocols almost never require them to be ruled out.
At the crossroads of these trends, NYC Health + Hospitals screened more than 50,000 patients for colorectal cancer in 2023 using at-home fecal immunochemical testing (FIT), a 20% increase in testing performed over the 2022.
FIT is an easier and less invasive test, which is received by the patient in a box by mail.
The Big Apple public health system appreciates increased patient participation by launching a new colorectal cancer screening registry, which captures those who are eligible for a colorectal cancer screening and encourages health care providers. primary care to offer a test at your annual appointment.
The municipal health system also increased the availability of prepaid envelopes and instructions available in 14 languages, to reduce barriers for patients to collect their sample and mail their test for processing.
Additionally, this month, NYC Health + Hospitals offers colonoscopies and FIT kits to help prevent colon cancer or detect it early, when it is most treatable.
“The test can be performed from the comfort of your home. We have made considerable progress in improving the effectiveness of our detection programs for this oncological disease with these kits. We have improved data that makes it easier for us to track screening tests. These tests save lives,” Davis highlighted.
Additionally, as Andrew Wallach, MD, chief of outpatient care at the NYC Public Hospital Corporation, explains, these screening tests can find precancerous lesions and remove them before they turn into cancer.
They can also find cancers in their early stages, when treatment is most effective.
“We are proud of the work of our ambulatory care teams, whose focus on promoting healthy lifestyles helps prevent many fatalities,” Wallach said.
It’s not a senior citizen thing.
A report published by the American Cancer Society in 2024 suggests that rates of colorectal cancer are increasing considerably among people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, even as the incidence is decreasing in people over 65 years of age.
But most people affected by early-onset colorectal cancer are too young to be recommended for routine cancer screening. On the contrary, it has helped reduce rates in adults over 50 years of age.
For this reason, health authorities have recommended starting colorectal cancer screening, for now, in just five years: from 50 to 45.
This key institution in the fight against this disease in the country predicted last year that approximately 153,000 new diagnoses would be made in the US in 2023, of which 19,550 would be in people under 50 years of age.
According to some profiles published by the Journal of The National Cancer Institute, millennials born around 1990 “now have twice the risk of colon cancer,” while millennials’ risk of rectal cancer is approximately four times higher than that of the oldest age groups.”
In medical science there is a consensus that in younger people the tendency is for more aggressive cancer behavior.
“New cases of colorectal cancer in people under 50 years of age have increased at an alarming rate in recent decades. But younger people are not routinely screened for colorectal cancer because the disease is still relatively rare in young people,” concludes a report from the National Cancer Institute.
Based on national analyzes by the American Cancer Society, Hispanics are less likely to be diagnosed early with cancer compared to non-Hispanic whites.
The trend observed, after years of follow-up, is that 1 in 3 Hispanic men and women will be diagnosed with some type of cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 5 men and 1 in 7 women will die from this disease.
However, in some states, such as Texas and California, Hispanic men born in the United States have death rates from colorectal cancer that exceed those of non-Hispanic white men, due to many factors. Among them, access to health insurance, poverty rates and education.
In this sense, Cuban Eric Hernández, 71 years old, says that just a few months ago he took the routine test. Fortunately, “everything went perfectly.”
“Honestly, they had never told me before that they had to discard me. I know it’s important now. And here in this city, there are many health screening options for everyone. Despite my age, I am fine in everything. But now I am clear that I should have had the first test done 20 years ago,” said the islander who has resided in the Big Apple since 1980.
Who is most at risk?
Based on a report released this week by the NYC Public Hospital Corporation, New Yorkers are more likely to get colorectal cancer if they: are older (the older you get, the higher your risk), have a personal history of colon cancer or polyps, They have a family history of colon cancer, have certain hereditary risks such as familial adenomatous polyposis or Lynch syndrome.
You also fall into the risk line if you have been diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
In addition, this disease is associated with physical inactivity, obesity, cigarette and alcohol consumption.
How to reduce the risk?
- keep a healthy weight
- Eat less processed meats, such as sausages and cold cuts.
- If you smoke, make a plan to quit
- Exercise regularly
- Reduce the amount and frequency with which you drink alcohol.
Don’t have health insurance?
- Most insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, cover colon cancer screenings starting at age 45.
- Check with your NYC Health + Hospitals healthcare provider about your colon cancer risk and your insurer about your coverage before your screening.
- New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance may be eligible for NYC Health + Hospitals’ health care access program, NYC Care.
- For more information, call 1-646-NYC-CARE (1-646-692-2273). Not a NYC Health + Hospitals patient? Call 1-844-NYC-4NYC (1-844-692-4692).
Deaths per year in NYC:
- 20% of Hispanics in the country die from some form of cancer, compared to non-Hispanic whites, Latino men and women are less likely to be diagnosed with the most common cancers: lung, colorectal, breast and prostate.
- The 2nd leading cause of cancer death in New York City, after lung cancer. It is most commonly found in people 45 years of age or older.
- 1,000 deaths associated with colon cancer in NYC each year and more than 3,400 new cases of colon cancer are diagnosed.
- 48% of all types of cancer confirmed in men in the country are prostate, lung, colon and rectal.
- 51% of the types of this disease in women are of the breast, lung, colon and rectum.