 This is Meryl Streep. Over the years, I have played some characters you could call controlling, but the truth is there's so much in life we can't control. But here's something we can. Colorectal cancer. It affects men and women, and it's the second leading cancer killer in the U.S., which is astounding considering it's almost entirely preventable. Here's how. Most colon cancers start as polyps, and screening helps find polyps so they can be removed before they even turn into cancer. Screening also finds this cancer early.