PITTSBURGH -- An estimated 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year.

Until recently, surgery to remove colon cancer involved open surgery and a lengthy hospital stay. But a new procedure being done in Pittsburgh is cutting recovery time in half.

More and more surgical procedures are being done by laparoscopy. Now, surgeons at UPMC Hospital are using this minimally invasive technology to remove colon cancers and large polyps.

Frank Farone, 45, is a New Castle doctor who recently became a patient.

"What I noticed was a change in my bowel pattern from what has been my normal for 25 years," he said.

A colonoscopy found trouble in his colon.

Farone said, "There was a small polyp that was flat along the side of the wall."

It was precancerous and because of its location it could only be removed surgically. That's when he turned to Dr. David Blumberg, a surgical oncologist at UPMC.

He is among a small number of local surgeons removing colon cancers and polyps by laparoscopy. Instead of making an incision the full length of the abdomen, Blumberg makes four small incisions each about 1 inch long.

"Through those incisions we are able to mobilize the colon, remove it completely and put the colon back together," Blumberg said.

Traditional open surgery would mean a seven-day hospital stay and a month recovery. This procedure gets patients back on their feet in half that time.

Blumberg said, "Typically, laparoscopy outpatients are in the hospital 72 hours total time. Most are back to work within 10 days or at least two weeks and the pain is incredibly reduced."

Grateful for the quick recovery, Farone is even more thankful his polyp was found before it turned cancerous. He urges people not to ignore even subtle symptoms.

"If it's a change and a persistent change, you need to fan-out why," he said.

Visit the links below to find out more about the warning signs of colon cancer and this procedure.

upmccancercenters.com

eifoundation.org

cancer.gov

cancer.org