Determining colon cancer risk is becoming easier

More than 50 percent of colon cancers can be prevented through lifestyle changes and regular screening tests. The lifestyle changes are the same ones that reduce your risk of heart disease and other cancers. Be more physically active by getting at least three hours a week of physical exercise. Eat less red meat and more fruit and vegetables. Cut alcohol consumption down to one to two drinks a day and take a daily multivitamin pill that contains folic acid. Most important of all is to get screened regularly after age 50, when most people develop colon cancer. The Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention provides risk evaluations not only for colon cancer but for breast, prostate, lung, bladder, skin (melanoma), uterine, kidney, pancreatic, ovarian, stomach, and cervical cancers online at http://www.yourcancerrisk.harvard.edu/