My mother, 88, recently had a tumor removed from her colon. Her nurse practitioner had recommended a colonoscopy after a speck of blood showed up in my mom's stool. I had mildly encouraged a colonoscopy to rule out cancer. My mom scoffed at me.

"I don't have cancer," she said, and waved away the idea.

But a trip to the Kootenai Health's emergency department a few months later proved otherwise. She finally got her colonoscopy. Surgery was scheduled. She was baffled that she could feel fine and energetic with a cancerous tumor inside her.

That's the nasty nature of colon cancer and one reason why health experts recommend regular screening. If colon cancer is caught early, the survival rate is 95 percent. But colon cancer often has no early warning symptoms.

Colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the second leading cancer killer in the nation and in Idaho as of 2011. To catch it early, regular screening is needed, particularly for people older than 50. Anyone with a family history of colon cancer should talk to a doctor about when to start regular screening.

Screening tests are designed to find polyps - growths - so they can be removed before they turn cancerous. Tests also can find cancer early enough to respond to treatment.

Idaho ranked 47th in the nation for colon cancer screening in 2010.

The risk for colon cancer grows as people age. If you have no history of colon cancer in your family, you should talk to your doctor about starting regular screening at age 50. When polyps are found, tests are scheduled more frequently than when tests show no polyps.

Idaho also ranks poorly for breast cancer screening - 51st in the nation for women age 40 and older. In 2011, 192 women in Idaho died from breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, "Most doctors feel that early detection tests for breast cancer save thousands of lives each year, and that many more lives could be saved if even more women and their healthcare providers took advantage of these tests."

To encourage more women to get a mammogram annually, Panhandle Health District recently launched the Ask Me! campaign in Shoshone and Benewah counties.

Staff in cooperating businesses in both counties wear chef's aprons with "Ask Me!" scrawled across the chest. Or they wear big "Ask Me" buttons or carry bags that scream in bold letters, "Ask Me!" When people ask what it all means, they're handed information about mammograms.

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast. Mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer early.

Screening helps us stay ahead of several cancers, but it's no help to us if we don't take advantage of it. According to the National Cancer Institute, screening has been found to increase the survival rates for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and skin cancers.

Talk to your health provider about which screenings are appropriate for your age and health history.

My mom's tumor is gone, but her colon cancer survived the surgery. You'd do her a favor to learn from her experience.

Cynthia Taggart is the public information officer for the Panhandle Health District. She can be reached at ctaggart@phd1.idaho.gov.