An interesting study underscored one more reason, among a seemingly, never-ending number of them, why patients may die from the errors their doctors make: Your physician may be missing signs of colon cancer right in front of him.

Among more than 12,000 colon cancer patients, 430 patients had a new or missed tumor that was diagnosed anywhere from six months to three years after having a colonoscopy. What's more, family physicians and internists who did their own colonoscopies were generally far more prone to miss colon cancer, with women (85 percent) edging men (77 percent).

The other troublesome variable, Canadian researchers discovered, was where a colonoscopy was performed. An office setting tripled the risk of new or missed cancers among men and doubled it among women.

Fortunately, there are many natural measures you can take -- none of which have anything to do with a drug, doctor or procedure -- to prevent or fight colon cancer. A few to get you started:

• Have your C-reactive protein levels checked and reduce them, if necessary.
• Get the right amount of exercise.
• Rebalance the ratio of omega-3 fats you consume by taking a high quality fish oil or krill oil.
• Eat plenty of vegetables, ideally based on your body's unique nutritional type.