This year, there will be over 100,000 new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in the United States, so I want to educate the public on some preemptive steps and lifestyle changes that can successfully alter the development of this disease.

Sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade and sweetened coffee beverages lead to excess added sugar in the diet, which may lead to weight gain.

A colon polyp is an irregularity of the internal lining of the colon. It most commonly results in a raised surface or bump on the inner surface of the colon.

Whether it’s a lump or a mass where there shouldn’t be, a shadow on an X-ray or scan, or an unusual-looking mole, polyp or lesion, any suspicion of cancer is unsettling.