John Andretti, NASCAR driver and longtime cancer awareness advocate, passed away today after a years-long battle with colon cancer. He was just 56 years old.
Andretti was an accomplished racer, participating in 17 NASCAR seasons and placing in the top 10 for 37 of his 393 starts, according to USA Today. He also raced in 12 Indy 500s — his best finish was in 1991 when he placed fifth. Racing was in Andretti’s blood — he’s the nephew of world-famous Italian-American Driver Mario Andretti. But when the younger Andretti was diagnosed with cancer, he dedicated his life to another mission — raising awareness about colon cancer prevention.
Read MoreStatement on the passing of John Andretti #CheckItForAndretti pic.twitter.com/ku3gX2neOq
Andretti Autosport (@FollowAndretti) January 30, 2020
In their announcement that Andretti had passed away, the driver’s family discussed his dedication to spreading awareness.
“When first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2017, John vowed to fight back and use his voice to help spread the word of prevention and early detection,” the announcement read. “He fought hard and stole back days the disease vowed to take away. He helped countless others undergo proper screening, and in doing so, saved lives.”
Andretti spread the word about colon cancer screening — which doctors recommend beginning at age 45 — using a social media campaign and the hashtag “CheckIt4Andretti. The driver underwent chemotherapy to treat his disease and announced in March of 2018 that he had gotten clear scans, according to USA Today. However, his cancer returned a few months later, and had spread to other parts of his body.
Why Are Young People Getting Colon Cancer?
The American Cancer Society guidelines for colon cancer recommend that average-risk adults begin getting colonoscopies at age 45. For those who are given clear scans, they should go back for additional colonoscopies once every 10 years. With regular screening, colon cancer is preventable.
However, even with these nation-wide screening recommendations, the rate at which younger adults are being diagnosed with colon cancer has been going up. In a previous interview, Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell, said that the reason colon cancer is becoming more common among people under 50 is hard to pin down, but these cancers tend to have some unique characteristics.
“We don’t know exactly why it’s increasing,” Dr. Yeo said. “It’s a different type of cancer. The colon cancers that are in the younger age group are more likely to be on the left side, they’re more likely to be rectal cancers, they are more likely to be kind of aggressive tumor types.”
Dr. Yeo also explained that any number of lifestyle factors could be contributing to colon cancer developing in younger adults.
“It may be something environmental. Our group actually tried to look at some of the kind of common risk factors,” she explained. “We looked at maps of the United States. We looked at smoking rates, and we looked at obesity. If you compare that to colon cancer, you’ll see, yes, where there’s obesity in the United States, there’s higher colon cancer. However it didn’t quite match with younger age groups. So there are some different risk factors for these early colon cancers.”
Be Aware of Symptoms
For people under the age of 45 — the need to undergo colon cancer screening varies. Some people are considered high-risk and may need to get colonoscopies earlier and more frequently. Another important aspect in the fight against this disease is symptoms. If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, a conversation with your doctor about screening may be in order:
- Change in bowel habits
- Change in the color of stool
- Abdominal pain
- Unintended weight loss
- Anemia
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