What is risk?

Risk is the probability that something might happen. Like the risk of having a severe accident, when not using the car seatbelt.

In cancer, when we talk about risk, we are talking about the chance of developing the disease, whether for the first time or a returning of it (disease recurrence). 

Colorectal cancer has a particular risk associated: it is estimated that about 1 in 16 people will develop the disease, most probably after the age of 50 years old.

This means that everyone has, to start, a 6`% risk of developing colorectal cancer – this is called the “average population risk." 

This risk increases if the person is exposed to risk factors .