Why it matters
A human reason — then the numbers.
Colorectal cancer is reaching younger adults, and too many learn it only after it has spread.
Philadelphia Is LoveCatch It Early
Why it matters
Too many people still think:
“I'm too young.”
Colorectal cancer is increasingly affecting younger adults — and many are diagnosed only after the disease has progressed.
That “I’m too young” would stop being the reason someone waits.
Today
Population-level figures. Not a live counter.
Americans are projected to be diagnosed today.
are projected to die from the disease today.
Nearly 200 of the daily diagnoses occur among Americans younger than 65.
Population-level 2026 campaign figures. Not a live counter, not a personal risk score, and not a prediction about any one person. Review date 2026-09-02. Campaign figures pending independent medical review.
Why Catch It Early?
When it is found matters.
five-year relative survival when colorectal cancer is found localized.
vs
after distant spread.
When it is found matters.
Population-level five-year relative-survival statistics. They describe groups in published epidemiology — they do not imply an individual prognosis.
Sources & review
Review date 2026-09-02. Campaign figures pending independent medical review. Medical content on this site is educational context, not a diagnosis or a personal prognosis.
- Catch It Early 2026 campaign epidemiology appendix — Daily diagnosis and mortality projections and younger-adult context as used in the campaign deck. Population-level; not a live feed.
- Five-year relative survival, localized vs distant (campaign accountability figures) — 91.3% vs 16.9% are population-level five-year relative-survival statistics. They do not describe an individual outcome.
- American Cancer Society — colorectal cancer — Public education on colorectal cancer.
- CDC — colorectal cancer — Screening and prevention information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — colorectal cancer screening — Independent screening recommendation (including the age-45 conversation). Not medical advice from Philadelphia Is Love.