Medicare Nation

Welcome, Medicare Nation! Today’s guest is Lee Silverstein, who is a colon cancer survivor. Lee is here to discuss the risks, prevalence, and treatments for this disease. Colorectal cancer is the most commonly diagnosed but also the most preventable through proper screening. The American Cancer Society estimates that 95,000 people will be newly diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016. Over their lifetimes, 1 in 21 men and 1 in 23 women will be diagnosed! Colon cancer is clearly not “the old man’s disease” that many of us have been led to believe. Let’s hear Lee’s amazing story! Why has colon cancer become so widespread for people under age 40? “Over the last few years, the rates for diagnosis have remained steady, with a huge increase in the number of cases in people under age 40. It is scary, alarming, and unexplainable by doctors. I recently attended a conference on colon cancer and met a newly diagnosed 23-year-old. The common risk factors are being overweight, a lack of physical activity, a diet rich in red