Katie's Crusade

While you're at it, try making a few changes in your lifestyle. Start by eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day (a serving consists of a medium-size banana, apple or orange, half a cup of solid vegetables or a full cup of lettuce). There's evidence that natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables can help protect against colon cancer. Besides, fruits and vegetables lower your blood pressure and help preserve your heart.

If that's too difficult, consider adding a multivitamin with 400 MCG of folic acid (one of the B vitamins) to your breakfast routine. Taking folic acid decreases the risk of developing colon cancer 75% over 15 years, according to a study of 90,000 nurses published two years ago. And don't forget to exercise. Joggers in particular seem to have a lower rate of colon cancer, but any physical activity is beneficial.

Whatever you do, don't let embarrassment stand in the way of your health. When Brenda Billingsley of Wilmington, Del., developed abdominal pains two years ago at age 48, she told her doctors about most of her symptoms. But she never talked about the way her stools had changed shape (and she wasn't asked). The pains must be menopause, the doctors decided. Then a year ago, during a flexible sigmoidoscopy, a physician discovered a tumor the size of a golf ball that had begun to spread. Aggressive treatment seems to have left Billingsley cancer free. Now she's on a mission to persuade family and friends to be screened. "I just goad them until they do it," she says. Katie Couric would be proud.

--Reported by David S. Jackson/Los Angeles, Alice Park/New York and Dick Thompson/Washington