 [ Symptoms ] i am on ssdi and must buy a certain amount of insurance to get medical because i can not afford my meds and mental health am i okay now and will i lose medical when i reach 65 in 2 years and my health insurance goes down [ Disease ] doctors are certain that colorectal cancer is not contagious a person cannot catch the disease from a cancer patient some people are more likely to develop colorectal cancer than others factors that increase a person is risk of colorectal cancer include high fat intake a family history of colorectal cancer and polyps the presence of polyps in the large intestine and chronic ulcerative colitis diet and colon cancer diets high in fat are believed to predispose humans to colorectal cancer in countries with high colorectal cancer rates the fat intake by the population is much higher than in countries with low cancer rates it is believed that the breakdown products of fat metabolism lead to the formation of cancer causing chemicals carcinogens diets high in vegetables and high fiber foods such as whole grain breads and cereals may rid the bowel of these carcinogens and help reduce the risk of cancer colon polyps and colon cancer doctors find that most colon cancers develop in colon polyps therefore removing benign colon polyps can prevent colorectal cancer colon polyps develop when chromosome damage occurs in cells of the inner lining of the colon chromosomes contain genetic information inherited from each parent normally healthy chromosomes control the growth of cells in an orderly manner when chromosomes are damaged cell growth becomes uncontrolled resulting in masses of extra tissue polyps colon polyps are initially benign over years benign colon polyps can acquire additional chromosome damage to become cancerous ulcerative colitis and colon cancer chronic ulcerative colitis causes inflammation of the inner lining of the colon colon cancer is a recognized complication of chronic ulcerative colitis the risk for cancer begins to rise after eight to 10 years of colitis the risk of developing colon cancer in a patient with ulcerative colitis also is related to the location and the extent of his or her disease current estimates of the cumulative incidence of colon cancer associated with ulcerative colitis are 2 5 at 10 years 7 6 at 30 years and 10 8 at 50 years patients at higher risk of cancer are those with a family history of colon cancer a long duration of colitis extensive colon involvement and those with primary sclerosing cholangitis psc since the cancers associated with ulcerative colitis have a more favorable outcome when caught at an earlier stage yearly examinations of the colon often are recommended after eight years of known extensive disease during these examinations samples of tissue biopsies can be taken to search for precancerous changes in the lining cells of the colon when precancerous changes are found removal of the colon may be necessary to prevent colon cancer genetics and colon cancer a person is genetic background is an important factor in colon cancer risk among first degree relatives of colon cancer patients the lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is 18 a threefold increase over the general population in the united states even though family history of colon cancer is an important risk factor majority