Colon Cancer is the second deadliest type of cancer in the United States. Thousands of people die from colon cancer inflicted illness every year. However, most often nobody really likes to talk about the colon or colon cancer. It’s almost like people try to ignore this topic as long as they can.

It probably has to do with the fact that colon screening is not really a pleasant experience. Let’s face, nobody will enjoy a 5 ft. tube inside their body for the screening procedure. But if you would have the choice between having a colonoscopy or facing the verdict of having colon cancer, which one would you choose?

A colonoscopy involves the use of a colonoscope—a long, thin, flexible medical instrument connected to a camera and video display monitor. The colonoscope is inserted into the rectum and moved through the entire colon. The entire procedure is done under a mild sedation.

A study of more than 160,000 colon-cancer patients published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that the colon cancers of patients who smoked tobacco or drank alcohol on a regular base were diagnosed an average of 5.2 years earlier compared to those that did not smoke or drink alcohol.

Cancer does not care if you are famous or not. Famous people suffer from the same illnesses and lack of screening like everyone else. However, sometimes the death of a famous person helps to raise awareness. Look at the last victim on our list of 10 famous people who died from Colon Cancer (continued below).

* Tony Snow – White House Press Secretary – 07/2008
* Tennessee State Rep. Gary Rowe – 02/2008
* Canadian painter Conrad Furey – 01/2008
* Movie critic Joel Siegel – 2007
* Comedian Marilyn Martinez – 11/2007
* Denis D’Amour, guitar player for the band Voivod – 2005
* ‘Price Is Right’ announcer Rod Roddy – 2003
* “Peanuts” Creator Charles Schulz – 2000
* Sesame Street Co-Founder Jeff Moss – 1998
* Husband of NBC Host Katie Couric, Jay Monahan - 1998

Katie Couric lost her husband to colon cancer in 1998. He was only 42 years old. After he died she used her own fame to launch a campaign to raise awareness about colon cancer and the importance of regular colon screenings. In 2000 she had her own colon screened on public television. The efforts paid off and afterwards the researchers at the University of Michigan reported a 20% increase in the number of scheduled colonoscopies. Since then numbers have dropped off again, but you can tell that being famous is a benefit when it comes to raising awareness.

References:
Katie’s Cure/Time Magazine | University of Michigan Colon Screening | University of Michigan reports climb in colon screening

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