Monument Health spreads cancer awareness with Blue Day [Video]

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2024, there will be over 100,000 cases of colon cancer reported in both men and women. Since March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, officials at Monument Health wanted to spread awareness about the severity of the disease.

Colon cancer is expected to cause around 50,000 deaths in 2024 alone. A sad fact about the disease is that it can be treated if it’s found early, but many don’t know the importance of early screening.

“We want to share that awareness to prevent that cancer from happening and by doing early detection and early screening then we can treat that disease for a cure early on in the disease process,” said Ali Zakaria M.D. a gastroenterologist for Monument Health.

It can be easy to think, “I feel fine, I don’t need to be tested,” but colon cancer testing …