Here are five things to know about colon cancer deaths based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported by NPR.
1. In low income communities, around 20 percent of those who die from colon cancer could have been saved from early screening.
2. The lost wages and productivity tied to premature deaths from colon cancer in low-income communities in the United States reaches around $6.4 billion.
3. Screening has reduced the rate of colon cancer among white people, and now African-Americans have higher rates of colon cancer.
4. There are around 194,927 years of life lost to premature death in lower income communities, compared with 128,812 in higher-income communities.
5. The screening options include fecal occult blood tests as well as sigmoidosocpy and colonoscopy.