Colon Cancer and Smoking: Deadly Partners

Long=term smokers have a 30–50% greater risk for colorectal can

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Are you aware of the strong link between these cancers, smoking, and secondhand smoke exposure?

“Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in South Carolina behind lung cancer. We have a great opportunity to reduce colon cancer diagnoses and death in our state by reducing tobacco use,” Nancy Cheney, of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and former SC Tobacco-Free Collaborative board member.

Although most people associate smoking and secondhand smoke with cancers of the lungs, mouth and esophagus, there is also a deadly link to colon and rectal cancers.

How are smoking and colorectal cancers linked? Let us count the ways:

1. Those who have smoked for 40 years or longer have a 30% to 50% increased risk of developing colon or rectal cancer. The same is true for ex-smokers who quit after age 40.
2. The news is particularly bad for women who smoke. Even if they smoke less than men, research shows that they are more likely to contract colon cancer.
3. Smokers with a history of heavy, long-term tobacco use are also diagnosed with cancer of the colon at significantly younger ages than non-smokers.
4. This same research shows that individuals with colon cancer who never smoked, but who were exposed to secondhand smoke were diagnosed at a significantly younger age compared with those who were never exposed to secondhand smoke.
5. Smokers diagnosed with colorectal cancer are also more likely to die from the disease than non-smokers. A new study by the American Cancer Society reveals that people who smoked before their colon cancer diagnosis had more than twice the risk of death from all causes.
6. And, smoking after a cancer diagnosis also increases the risk of treatment complications, poor wound healing, and risk of cancer recurrence.

The good news is that quitting smoking reduces the risk. The more years one goes without smoking, the lower the risk of colon cancer.

It is never too late to quit. Call 1–800-QUITNOW for help.

Christie James

Sources: 2014 Surgeon General’s Report: The Health Consequences of Smoking — 50 Years of Progress, Long-Term Smoking Increases Colorectal Cancer Risk, Study Shows, The Increased Risk of Colon Cancer Due To Cigarette Smoking May Be Greater in Women than Men, Tobacco Use Associated with Earlier Onset of Colorectal Cancer, Smoking linked to higher risk of death among colorectal cancer survivors , Cancer Facts and Figures 2014