Kirstie Alley's Death from Colon Cancer Spotlights Importance of Screenings and Early Detection

Beloved comedic actress Kirstie Alley, who won multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards for her roles on two popular NBC sitcoms – as Rebecca Howe on Cheers and Veronica “Ronnie” Chase on Veronica’s Closet – succumbed to colon cancer on Monday at the age of 71, her children announced. The actress was being treated in Florida for late-stage colon cancer, news reports revealed.

Resource editors spoke with Antonio Ucar, M.D., medical oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute, who addressed some of the common misconceptions about colon cancer and explained why screenings and early detection are so important – particularly with this type of cancer.

Antonio Ucar, M.D., medical oncologist with Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute

Resource: What should people know about colon cancer?

Dr. Ucar: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer death in the U.S. in women and the second leading cause of death in men. Approximately 150,000 new cases of large bowel cancer are diagnosed each year, of which approximately 106,000 arise from the colon and the remainder from the rectum. However, the mortality of colorectal cancer has been progressively declining since 1990.

Resource: What are common symptoms of colon cancer to watch for?

Dr. Ucar: Signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer include change in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, rectal mass or abdominal mass, iron deficiency anemia, abdominal distension and abdominal pain. Colorectal cancer is diagnosed after the onset of symptoms, through screening colonoscopy or through tests that detect occult blood in the stools (fecal immunochemical test or guaiac fecal test).

Resource: How treatable is colon cancer? 

Dr. Ucar: Colorectal cancer is potentially curable especially when diagnosed at early stages. Curative treatments include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. Now, even patients with advanced disease can be cured through the use of a multispecialty approach which can combine some or most of the treatment options available. For patients who cannot be cured, available treatments can prolong survival while trying to maintain the best quality of life possible.

Resource: Why are younger people getting colon cancer more often?

Dr. Ucar: The incidence of colorectal cancer has been steadily increasing in men and women under the age of 50 since 1990. The increases are predominantly related to left sided cancers and rectal cancer in particular. It is still unclear exactly why colorectal cancer rates are increasing in younger adults but suspected factors include obesity, eating an unhealthy diet (high fat and sugary foods and beverages), low levels of physical activity, changes in the gut bacteria (microbiome) and inflammation in the gut.

Resource: What are the misconceptions of colon cancer?

Dr. Ucar: There are a number of misconceptions about colon cancer. Some of the most common misconceptions include:

• Screening colonoscopy or tests for occult blood in stools are not required unless the person has symptoms. NOT TRUE: Colorectal cancer can be asymptomatic especially in early stages.

• Colon cancer does not appear before age 50. NOT TRUE: The incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing in persons younger than 50.

• Colonoscopy is painful and the preparation is very cumbersome. NOT TRUE: The procedure is not painful at all and there are more convenient ways to clean the bowel prior to colonoscopy.

• Colorectal cancer is uncommon in women. NOT TRUE: It is more common in men but not by much.

• Colonoscopy is the only available screening procedure. NOT TRUE: There are at-home testing options such as Cologuard that test for occult blood in stools.

Resource: What other advice do you have for prevention and early detection of colon cancer?

Dr. Ucar: You shouldn’t wait or focus on symptoms to get screened because in the early stages of colorectal cancer there may be few or no warning signs. You want to avoid waiting until symptoms develop because they could be a sign cancer is already present. Screening colonoscopy starting at age 45 is a very useful tool to diagnose and remove adenomatous polyps which are precancerous or to detect early-stage colon cancers.

Also, as noted above, there are also several stool testing kits available for at-home testing, including the fecal occult blood test and the DNA stool test, which people who have an “average risk” can take on a yearly or less frequent basis. In addition, a healthy lifestyle by increasing physical activity and avoiding processed meats and refined sugars in the diet can contribute to lower the risk of colorectal cancer.