During colorectal cancer awareness month in March, you may receive frequent reminders to undergo a colonoscopy.
“This cancer is increasing in frequency in young people, and it is the biggest cancer in people aged 40-50,” explained Dr. Diego Marines, Colorectal Surgeon and Chairman of Surgery at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) lists five types of screening tests for colon cancer.
The most common is a colonoscopy, which usually looks at the entire colon. It can biopsy and remove polyps and typically only needs to be done every 10 years.
However, some people dislike getting colonoscopy tests because of the prep needed, missing work, and the need for another person to drive them home.
Now, several people are learning about the at-home tests, which are stool-based tests that check feces for signs of cancer. The tests are less invasive and easier to do, but have to be done more often.
According to ACS, stool-based tests can miss polyps and some cancers and they can also give false-positive results.
If your results are abnormal, you will need to get a colonoscopy.
“I think Cologaurd is better than nothing if you have some type of problem that keeps you from having a colonoscopy, but it is going to miss about 20% of polyps. Even of good size. So, polyps that are very close to becoming cancer, it will miss those. Even if it is positive, and sometimes they have false positive results, then we have to go back to doing a colonoscopy anyway. So, my answer for Cologuard is it’s better than nothing, but it’s nowhere near the gold standard,” Dr. Marines said.
Colonoscopy is the gold standard of care.
Dr. Marines reminds people colonoscopies are a one-and-done procedure because if they see a pre-cancerous polyp, they can remove it right there and prevent them from ever developing this cancer.