Diet

• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Base your diet on plant foods. It has been found that those who have diets high in these foods have a lower risk for colon cancer. Eat raw vegetables often and get plenty of fiber. Avoid processed foods and refined grains and select whole grain foods instead. Eat whole-grain breads, oatmeal and foods that contain bran. Avoid white bread and sweet foods loaded with sugar. Limit the amount of meat in your diet, while ensuring you consume enough protein from alternate sources.
  
  Avoid alcoholic beverages or limit your intake to one per day if you are a woman and two a day if you are a man. Reduce your calories so you stay at your ideal weight. Obesity has been shown to increase the risk of colon cancer particularly in men. If you are overweight, begin a healthy diet along with exercise so you can get down to your ideal weight. If you are not currently overweight, watch your diet so you don't put on pounds as you get older, as commonly happens with seniors.
  
  

Exercise

• Engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Increasing the level of intensity or duration of your exercise may even further lower your risk of colon cancer. Exercise will also help you prevent obesity, which can lead to colon cancer. Seniors can walk briskly for 30 minutes every day or do chair exercises that increase heart rate and work out muscles. Before you begin a new exercise regimen, consult your doctor to make sure you are in the proper condition for the exercise you have chosen. If you have problems with your knees, your doctor may not want you to walk excessively but prefer you get physical activity through water aerobics.
  
  

Screening

• Undergo colon cancer screening according to recommended guidelines. Starting at the age of 50, seniors should have a fecal blood test each year, a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years and a colonoscopy every ten years. These tests are used to find blood, abnormalities or polyps in the colon that might indicate the presence of cancer so it can be treated early.