7. Have Regular Colon Cancer Screening
They may be able to spot colorectal cancer at its early stages and can identify precancerous colorectal polyps (abnormal growths). There are three kinds of screening tests: stool-based tests, visual exams, and a blood test.
Stool-based screening tests analyze feces samples for occult (hidden) blood or abnormal sections of DNA or RNA that could indicate cancer or precancerous polyps. Samples are relatively easy to collect at home and return to a doctor’s office or medical lab. But testing must be done fairly frequently, every one to three years, depending on the test.
Stool-based screenings include multitargeted stool DNA and RNA tests, the fecal immunochemical test, and the guaiac-based fecal occult blood test.
The Shield blood test is another screening option, requiring a simple blood draw at your doctor’s office or clinic. However, it’s not a preferred method of screening, as it’s less sensitive at picking up colon cancer and precancerous polyps than the other tests.
Despite all of the options, the gold standard screening is still a colonoscopy. During this procedure, while a patient is sedated, doctors examine the inside of the colon and rectum via a device inserted through the anus: a long, flexible tube with a tiny video camera at the end. Prior to this procedure, patients need to clean out the colon and rectum, a process that involves drinking a powerful laxative solution.
During a colonoscopy, doctors can remove and biopsy any polyps they find, leading to a determination of whether a growth is cancerous, precancerous, or benign.
Troublingly, almost 60 percent of Americans don’t realize that removing polyps during colonoscopy screenings can prevent cancer.
But the good news is that removal of polyps detected through screening is one reason colorectal cancer death rates have been dropping over the past few decades.
Colorectal screening also offers the advantage of detecting and treating colorectal cancer while it is still localized, meaning it hasn’t spread beyond the large intestine. Cancer caught and treated in this early stage has a five-year survival rate of roughly 90 percent.
Still, research shows 3 in 10 Americans in a primary risk group for colorectal cancer (people ages 50 to 75) were not up to date on screenings as of 2020, although the rate of compliance has steadily improved over the last decade.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets policy for Medicare and private insurers under the Affordable Care Act, recommends that adults begin screening for colorectal cancer at the age of 45.
People who are considered at high risk, such as those with a family history of the disease, who have a prior history of cancer or polyps, or who carry certain genetic mutations known to increase cancer risk, may also want to start screening at an earlier age.
People at average risk generally need to be screened via colonoscopy only once every 10 years if there are no polyps found during the colonoscopy.
