Colorectal Cancer Screenings

Colorectal cancer affects both men and women and is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. But colorectal cancer can often be successfully treated when detected early, before it has spread.

Who’s at Risk?

Anyone can get colon cancer, but it’s much more common in people over age 50. People of any age are at higher risk of developing colon cancer if they have a personal history of:

• Colorectal polyps
• Colorectal cancer
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• People of any age with family history of:
  • Colorectal polyps
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Familiar adenomatus polyps (FAP)
  • Hereditary non-polypsis colon cancer (HNPCC)

People at higher risk for colorectal cancer should talk with their doctor about a more stringent screening schedule, including regular colonoscopy.

Screening Guidelines for people age 50 and over:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults age 50 to 75 be screened for colorectal cancer. Your doctor might recommend earlier screening if you’re at higher risk.  There are several screening tests available, in two main groups:

• Stool-based tests: These tests check the stool (feces) for signs of cancer. These tests are less invasive and easier to have done, but they need to be done more often.
• Visual exams: These tests look at the structure of the colon and rectum for any abnormal areas. This is done either with a scope (a tube-like instrument with a light and tiny video camera on the end) put into the rectum, or with special imaging (x-ray) tests. The most well known of this type of test is colonoscopy.