Dr. Ross on the Rise of Colon and Rectal Cancer in Young Patients

Howard M. Ross, MD, a colon and rectal surgeon, the chair of Surgery, and surgeon in chief at Hackensack University Medical Center, and a professor and chair of the Department of Surgery at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, discusses the increase in colon and rectal cancer in young patients.

The treatment of colon cancer continues to change with dramatic changes in multiple areas, Ross says. For example, the increase of colon and rectal cancer in younger patients over the past 40 years has led to a change in practice patterns, Ross explains. 

Any rectal bleeding in patients should always have been followed up by an exam and colonoscopy, Ross notes. Previously, younger patients tended not to receive that recommendation, but they are now being treated more appropriately, Ross concludes.