About a quarter of all adults in the U.S. older than age 50 will have at least one colorectal polyp. Most colorectal cancers develop from polyps in glandular tissue of the intestinal lining.

Colorectal cancer, sometimes called colon cancer, starts when cells that line your colon or rectum grow out of control.

In its early stages, colorectal cancer (also called colon cancer) may not have symptoms. Problems that cause symptoms usually start after it’s spread.

Anyone can get colorectal cancer. Doctors often don't know why it happens, but they know some of the things that make people more likely to get it.

One of the risk factors for colorectal cancer is a family history of the disease.

When doctors talk about the “stage” of your disease, that’s based on how far it has spread through the walls of the colon or rectum and whether it’s now in other parts of the body, too.

Proper nutrition and diet are important in helping to prevent many diseases, and colorectal cancer is no exception.