BUFFALO, N.Y. — We have important new information to share with you about getting screened for colon cancer.
The age is now lowered to 45. It was previously 50. So now everyone, regardless of family history of colon cancer, should be screened for it starting when you are 45 years old.
2 On Your Side talked with Doctor Tessa Flores from Roswell Park on Thursday. Dr. Flores is the Medical Director of Cancer Screening and Survivorship at Roswell Park. She told us that in the past week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force changed the guidelines to add people ages 45 to 49. She says it is a big deal because it catches a broader range of people and if screened and caught early enough, it is a curable disease.
Dr. Flores shared her personal experiences with 2 On Your Side.
"I just recently had my colonoscopy done. I am under 50. I fall between 45 and 50 years of age. I had two tubular adenoma. They were small. They were seven millimeters. They did not have cancer in it, but I am thankful that my primary care doctor sent me early because if I had waited until I was 50, the polyps could have been bigger, and my aunt who was 51 at her initial colonoscopy screening actually had colon cancer," Dr. Tessa Flores.
Dr. Flores says most insurance companies will cover you if you're 45 or older now because it is a cancer screening.
And there's a stool test a lot of people can do from home where you just send in a sample and you don't have to go through a traditional colonoscopy.
"It takes a while for colon cancer to develop, usually about ten to 15 years, but most of the time with young adults, the 45 to 50 years of age, they are diagnosed at a later stage because they just think, hey, this can't happen to me," Dr. Flores said.
Dr. Flores says eating lots of processed foods, smoking, and not exercising are all risk factors for colon cancer. She also says that more young adults who are white are being diagnosed in recent years than in past years.
RELATED VIDEO: