Vanessa Williams on cancer screenings

There's nothing glamorous about colorectal cancer, says Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams. It's the second leading cancer killer in the United States, for goodness sake, which makes it a pretty unattractive disease. There is an upside to this cancer, though: More people are surviving it than ever before.

Check out this video clip, a public service announcement featuring Williams and these important tips.

• Colorectal cancer is treatable and preventable.
  

• You should begin screening for colorectal cancer beginning at age 50 and even earlier if you have a family history of the disease.
  

• Screening can detect this cancer when it's highly curable.
  

• Screening can lead to the removal of polyps before they become cancerous.
  

• New treatments are allowing people with advanced disease to live long, productive lives.
  
  

Talk to your doctor about getting screened if you are nearing that 50 mark. Family history may dictate you have a chat even sooner. And as a supplement -- not an alternative -- to your own cancer screenings, take this AOL Are You Avoiding Cancer? quiz.