MANILA - Former President Corazon Aquino's much-publicized battle against colorectal cancer has reportedly sparked a rise in the number of medical check-ups for the disease.

Members of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology (PSG) said Aquino's illness has raised public awareness about colon cancer.

Dr. Arsenio Caburnay of the PSG said that since Aquino was diagnosed with cancer last year, there was a 30% increase in patients wanting colonoscopy, or a colon examination.

Under this procedure, doctors insert a colonoscope, which is equipped with a tiny camera, into a person's anus. Doctors can also get tissue samples within the colon for biopsies.

Caburnay said about 5% to 10% of patients who underwent colonoscopy since last year were diagnosed with early stage colon cancer.

The PSG is asking the government to make colon cancer-screening mandatory among Filipinos aged 50 and above, just like in the United States.

Colorectal cancer, characterized by abnormal growth of cells in the colon or rectum, is the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health.

Aquino's family announced that she had cancer in early 2008. Since then, Aquino has been undergoing treatment and has spent over a month confined at the Makati Medical Center. Report from Cecil Lardizabal, ABS-CBN News.