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Young adults who drink sugary beverages may be at an increased risk of developing colon cancer, researchers claim. The study, which involved 116,500 female nurses from 1991 to 2015, found that compared with women who drank less than one 8-ounce serving per week of sugar-sweetened beverages, those who drank two or more per day had over twice the risk of developing early-onset colorectal cancer. (Hein, 7/6)

Colon and rectal cancers are rising in younger adults, though researchers aren’t sure why. A new study of women and diet suggests that sugar-sweetened drinks may play a role. Rates of colorectal cancer in people under 50 have increased sharply in recent years. Compared with people born around 1950, those born around 1990 have twice the risk for colon cancer and four times the risk for rectal cancer. (Bakalar, 7/6)

New research finds that countries with more cloudy days tend to have higher colon cancer rates. Lower levels of vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin," may be to blame. Boosting your vitamin D levels through exposure to sunlight could help reduce your risk of colon cancer, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego. (7/5)

Exposure to antibiotics appears to be associated with the development of colon cancer, particularly in younger people, and could be contributing to the increase in early onset colorectal cancer (CRC) that is being documented, say UK researchers. The team conducted a nested case-control study using data from primary care in Scotland, which involved almost 8000 cases of CRC and over 30,000 healthy controls. The analysis suggests that a history of antibiotic use among individuals younger than 50 appeared to increase the risk of developing colon cancer (but not rectal) by 49%. (Davenport, 7/5)

Three months before “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman died from stage 4 colon cancer at age 43, another young Black idol succumbed to the same scourge. Omhar Carter was a beloved youth basketball coach who trained and mentored promising players for more than 20 years in his hometown of Jackson, Miss. He was to the basketball scene in Jackson what T’Challa was to Wakanda. “He was the guy that everybody came to to get better — there were so many lives that he touched,” said Shay Hodge, who was coached by Carter when he was 16. Hodge, now 33, credits Carter with steering him and many other troubled teenagers in the right direction, including some onto the rosters of college and pro teams. “We all looked at him like he was a superhero.” (St. Fleur, 6/22)

A popular home test to screen for colon cancer has come with an unexpected bill for some people — leading to fears they may put off life-saving treatment. Americans may be used to seeing commercials for Cologuard, an at-home test advertised as a way to screen for colon cancer at home instead of the much-more involved process of colonoscopy. Experts say it is a good screening tool, but some users have said they were faced with a high bill. Missouri resident Lianne Bryant told CBS News' consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner that she was intrigued after seeing the Cologuard commercials on television for a couple of years. (Werner, 6/29)