The statistics don't lie: Colon cancer has risen sharply among people under age 50. In fact, the American Cancer Society reports that in those under 55, colon cancer death rates have been increasing roughly 1 percent each year since the mid-2000s. "It's currently the deadliest cancer among young men and the second deadliest among young women," adds the Colorectal Cancer Alliance .
Several scientific theories explain this shift, the most widely circulated of which is that this younger generation consumed more processed foods , thereby adopting a diet higher in harmful ingredients and lower in gut-friendly fiber.
Because of the scary trend, in 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) changed its recommendations for when Americans at average risk of colon cancer shou