Now that rates of colon cancer are rising in younger people, age recommendations for colonoscopy were recently reduced to age 45 from age 50. Health care teams are constantly working toward awareness and countering the reasons people put colonoscopies off, such as, “I don’t have symptoms” … “I have no family history” … or “I don’t want to drink all that stuff.”
“Colon cancer often has no early symptoms, and about 70 percent of cases are not genetic,” Dr. Smith says. “As far as the preparation, there are newer, faster and lower-volume colonoscopy prep options available now that make the process more comfortable.”
Halecky says the screenings are far better than the possible alternative.
“I’d say if you’re in the age range, you should speak to your clinician about getting the screening done. If you’re clear, you don’t have to go back for 10 years,” she says. “And if you’re not, you may have started saving your life.”