Prevention:

The death rate for colon cancer has dropped in the last 15 years. This may be due to increased awareness and screening by colonoscopy.

Colon cancer can almost always be caught in its earliest and most curable stages by colonoscopy. Almost all men and women age 50 and older should have a colon cancer screening. Patients at risk may need screening earlier.

For information on this procedure, see:

• Colon cancer screening
• Colonoscopy

Colon cancer screening can find pre-cancerous polyps. Removing these polyps may prevent colon cancer.

Dietary and lifestyle modifications are important. Some evidence suggests that low-fat and high-fiber diets may reduce your risk of colon cancer.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends against taking aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medicines to prevent colon cancer if you have an average risk of the disease -- even if someone in your family has had the condition. Taking more than 300 mg a day of aspirin and similar drugs may cause dangerous gastrointestinal bleeding and heart problems in some people.

Although low-dose aspirin may help reduce your risk of other conditions, such as heart disease, it does not lower the rate of colon cancer.