Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
205-348-6644

© 2025 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
APR is made possible by listener support. Want to make donation? Click here!

Changing how we talk about colon cancer

Rates of colorectal cancer are rising, especially for people younger than 50. But it’s hard to raise awareness for a cancer that a lot of us find hard to talk about.

In a recent essay for The Cut, writer Laurie Abraham described her experience of colon cancer, which included a lot of embarrassment. Talking about your bowel movements is not fun. Can you relate?

NPR’s Brittany Luse is joined by Abraham and Dr. Kimmie Ng, co-director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, to get into the cultural shame around how we talk about colon cancer and how that extends to a lack of funding and research.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.