Episode Details

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer deaths for Americans under the age of 50, according to a paper published last month in JAMA.  

This research backs up a trend that doctors have been seeing for a while now: Colon cancer isn’t just a disease that affects older people. 

Just last week, James Van Der Beek, who played Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek” died of colorectal cancer. He was 48 years old. 

In the past few years, more health organizations have followed the American Cancer Society in lowering the recommended age for colon cancer screenings from 50 to 45 years old. 

And more recently, there’s been a trend online that encourages people to start “fibermaxxing”... which is just a fancy way of telling them to eat more fiber.  

We talk to a doctor about this trend and the symptoms to look out for when it comes to colon cancer. 

Guests: 

• Dr. Rachel Issaka, director of the colorectal cancer screening program for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and UW Medicine

Related links: 

• Leading Cancer Deaths in People Younger Than 50 Years | Breast Cancer | JAMA | JAMA Network
• Colorectal Cancer Is Now the Top Cause of Cancer Death in Younger People - WSJ

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.