March is colorectal cancer awareness month, an umbrella term that encompasses both colon and rectal cancers, a disease that is showing a sharp impact on the local area. Hampton Roads is one of three hot spots identified by the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable for high rates of colorectal cancer diagnoses and mortality related to the disease. From 2018-2022, the Virginia Department of Health reported Three Rivers Health District as having a higher rate of colorectal cancer at 41.6 cases per a population of 100,000 than the national average, which is 36.7 per 100,000. The state average is 33.8 per 100,000. “There’s not really good research that pulls out the Hampton Roads,” said Kathryn “Katy” Felts, a family nurse practitioner specializing in gastroenterology at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Gloucester. However, there are several factors including barriers to transportation, lack of insurance and limited access to preventative care that could be contributing to the local uptick...