March was Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, but for people ages 45 and older, it’s always wise—never mind the month—to get themselves screened, a Katy doctor said.

“Basically, it’s a cancer of the colon or rectum,” Dr. Tareq Kamal, a colorectal surgeon at Houston Methodist West in Katy, said. “It happens on the inside of the colon or the rectum. It can grow and spread towards lymph glands and other organs.”

The American Cancer Society recommended recommends colorectal cancer screening when one turns 45. If one has a family cancer history, screenings should start earlier than that. One might be at a higher risk for colorectal cancer if one has a family history of this cancer, a personal history of colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, or genetic syndromes, including Lynch syndrome and Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP).

“Routine screenings can help prevent colorectal cancer or find it at an early stage, when it’s smaller and more easily treatable,” Kamal said. “Caught early, we can often remove the cancer fully and achieve better outcomes.”

Kamal said about 106,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed in the US each year. This is the third-most common cancer diagnosed. Kamal said the rate of men getting this cancer is 33% higher than women.

Kamal is new to Katy—he relocated to Texas last September—but he’s been a surgeon since 2007 and completed his training in colorectal cancer treatment in 2016. He did his residency in Chicago and practiced medicine in Michigan before coming to Texas.

A surgeon like Kamal sees a patient after the patient has had a colonoscopy and the cancer diagnosis has been confirmed. The patient undergoes a CAT scan to make sure the cancer hasn’t metastasized and spread elsewhere. The patient undergoes a full exam and the surgeon checks the patient’s family history. Based on these results and routine bloodwork, he said, the next step in the treatment is decided upon.

The type of surgery performed depends on the location of the tumor, Kamal said.

“We use minimally invasive, robotic techniques, to remove these cancers,” Kamal said, adding that the robotic surgeries have been used for at least the last 10 years. The technology has become more available to doctors and they have more experience with them, he said.

“The results of been very positive and comparable to other forms of surgery,” Kamal said, adding that one benefit of the technology is that patients tend to have shorter hospital stays.

Kamal said rectal cancer is treated differently from colon cancer. Rectal cancer is more complex, he said, and the patient will undergo an MRI so the medical team can decide the best options for surgery and treatment.

While age and family history are beyond a patient’s control, it is possible to reduce risk for colorectal cancer by following some basic guidelines. Kamal said eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, losing weight, and avoiding tobacco, and limiting or avoiding alcohol can all help lower the risk of colorectal cancer. Such a diet, Kamal said, would involve reducing or avoiding red meat and processed foods. As for exercise, Kamal said, any form of exercise that lowers one’s body mass index (BMI) and improves cardiac ability are good.