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Cancer

Don’t wait until you turn 50 to screen for colon cancer

September 1, 2018

According to a new guideline, testing should start at age 45, but not everyone needs to have a colonoscopy. Other tests are also available.

w0918d16207257640771 Colon cancer screenings for people at average risk for the disease should start at age 45 instead of 50, says a new guideline from the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The change to the screening recommendation, which was published in the May 30 issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, was made because the number of colon cancer cases among adults under age 55 rose 51% from 1994 to 2014, and colon cancer deaths in this age group rose 11% from 2005 to 2015.

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