BOSTON -- Colon cancer is one of the most deadly cancers, unless you catch it early. One solution to stopping the cancer before it starts can all come down to one number -- your age.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported that colon cancer will kill about 1,200 Massachusetts residents this year alone, according to new research from the American Cancer Society.

Bob Hebden, 67, said he is alive today because of the woman he married.

"My wife was insistent when I was 60 that I have a colonoscopy," he said.

Colon cancer killed Hebden's mother when she was 71. So Hebden had blood tests for colon cancer from the time he was 50. He was sure the colonoscopy would find nothing.

"I had absolutely no symptoms. I had no bleeding, I had no abdominal pain, no loss of weight, no symptoms whatsoever," he said.

But Hebden did have colon cancer and underwent surgery to remove part of his colon. Without the colonoscopy, his chances of survival would have been much lower.

"Colon cancer is a very preventable cancer," said Dr. Ram Chuttani, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "It can be picked up early and treated early. People don't have to die from colon cancer."

Early detection is the key, doctors said. Once you turn 50, your risk of getting colon cancer increases rapidly. But if the cancer is caught early, your chances of survival are 90 percent.

The American Cancer Society is hoping to reach 50-year-olds with new light-hearted ads on what can sometimes be an uncomfortable subject.

"There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of," Hebden said.

Hebden speaks from experience. He just had his three-year follow up colonoscopy this week, and got a clean bill of health. And he had some chilling advice for anyone over 50.

"Don't delay. I had a neighbor who did delay, and he was diagnosed with colon cancer three months after I was and he's not here any longer," he said.

New technologies are being developed to detect colon cancer, including a pill camera that you swallow. But doctors say colonoscopy is still the gold-standard for detection.