When Should Colon Cancer Screenings Start?

50, doll

And I'm credentialed.

OP, what does your doctor say? I had my first when I was 51, they found 13 polyps.

Talk to your doc and hopefully get an authorization., get an HPV vaccine, and for God's sake don't use one of those mail-in tests. It damned near killed me.

OP it's probably a bit early, but ask your doctor now.

R@ I have you beat. Had 14 polyps and a colectomy. (not a fun procedure.)

Yeah, if this cancer runs in your family, start getting screened early. I'd say 40.

Generally if you have a family history they start you as much as 10 years earlier. I would think by 40 for you.

I have colon problems and they found polyps about 15 yrs ago so I get a colonoscopy every two or three years. But OP, you can control this to some extend with your diet, exercise and regularity routine. First, fatty greasy foods are terrible. Eliminate them from your world. Especially get rid of red meat, and sugary sweets. Get enough fiber in your diet or take a supplement. Drink water. Lots of it. Exercise at least 3 or 4 hours a week. I stopped eating two things I used to love. BBQ Spare ribs and Bacon. I still eat lean cuts of pork, but fish chicken and beans are my protein sources now. I also avoid all mucus producing foods. and the carbs like white potatoes, white rice and white bread.

Forty may be a safer bet for you considering your family history. The trouble with colon cancer is there are often no symptoms until the cancer has progressed. I know a healthy man who had recurring bleeding, along with some other complaints. Though the primary physician told him it was just hemmerhoids, he sought out another doctor who ordered the colonoscopy. He had cancer that had progressed to something much worse than a few polyps.

They removed a six inch section of his colon, and he's fine. What would be his outcome had he not insisted on the test? Better safe than sorry.

^ was 42 at the time.

Out of interest would a polyp inevitably turn cancerous or is it just that there’s a very high potential for that occurring?

r11, I don't think all polyps become cancerous but I think most if not all colon cancers begin with a polyp.

I have been vegetarian since 1976 and plant based since 2012 and they have found polyps in every one of my colonoscopies. Maybe diet plays a part for some but it doesn't seem to for me. During the last colonoscopy they found a polyp in my appendix, so I had that taken out last year.

They go all the way up to your appendix?!?!?

I saw on the news that the American Medical Association or whoever it is that sets those guidelines just lowered the age screening should start from 50 to 45.

But I guess it can happen anytime. Look at Chadwick Bozeman. He got it in his 30s.

There is a gene test they do nowadays.

A friend of mine's father died of it and his brother had it pretty young. (not sure what age exactly.)

He and his other three brothers all had a genetic test and his came back positive. He eats a special diet to fight it and has frequent colonoscopies..

If at all in doubt, get checked. Typically colon cancer is an older person’s disease, but not always, as I’ve found out alas. It’s easily treatable at the earlier stages. I got it in my 30’s like Chad, ignored symptoms, and when I did see my doctor she dismissed them anyway (I was too young in her view). Now it’s spread to my lungs too. I would never want to alarm anyone by saying that, I just stress that you can’t be too vigilant.

R16 that must be a lot to wrap your head around. I hope you get better.

I knew a guy who had a family history and got a colonoscopy before 40, IIRC. I’ve had a colonoscopy and IME, it really wasn’t that bad. No polyps.

I would try to get one done as early as possible.

The American Cancer Institute just lowered it from 50 to 45. I wish my mother would have listened. Colon cancer killed her. She thought colonscopies were silly.

R16 Thanks for sharing your experience. Would you mind describing your symptoms, as I think it may be helpful to others. Wishing you well in your treatment and recovery.

OP, you should be screened now. Doctors are saying 45 is the general standard now because the rate of young people with colon cancer is skyrocketing. If you have family history, 35 or 40 is advisable. The problem is many insurance companies want pay for it until you are 50.

I had 4 feet of colon removed. Has significantly shortened the time between meals and...

HPV spread is a big factor.

R17 R20 thanks, it’s been a tough year, beyond just the general 2020 bullshittery. The odds for stage 4 cases are just horrific, but I’m not a statistic, and the treatment has been working, making good if slow progress. So I try to keep positive and just get on with things. The problem with colon cancer is there aren’t many symptoms, and by the time you’ve got them, it’s often quite advanced. Which is why screening is so important. Only really symptom I had was bleeding when I went to poop. I’m like a reverse hypochondriac, if I have a symptom I think ‘oh it’s probably nothing’. It would come and go. Each time it got bad I thought I’d go back to the doctor, but then it would stop again so I didn’t. But you should never ignore bleeding. I assumed maybe it was something minor like a pile or something. Don’t self diagnose, you need a doctor to check (as fun as that ain’t). I was also tired a lot and was diagnosed with anemia a couple of times. My doctor never stopped to ask why I was anemic, but just put me on iron tablets. I should probably have inquired further as to what might cause that. Latterly, the bleeding got worse and worse until it was every day. My poop was streaked through with fresh red blood (my tumour is quite low down, some are higher and the blood may therefore be darker). I repeat, never ignore bleeding. It means something ain’t right. A lot of people I see online get very anxious about their health and constantly think they have terrible things. The way I see it, it doesn’t make sense to be anxious until you know you have something...and even then there are always appropriate steps to take. But it pays to be vigilant and sometimes you have to push your doctor, as I discovered a little too late.

Cheers R24. Glad you are remaining positive. I have a friend who beat stage four Lymphoma; she certainly defied the odds. Anything is possible. 👍🙏

Thanks R25 I’m so glad to hear that! For your friend, and for the fact it truly gives me more hope :)

R26 You're most welcome. 😘

Looks like lung is the one to look out for most

Five Most Dangerous Cancers in Men (2019) Lung & Bronchus - 72,500 male deaths Prostate - 33,330 male deaths Colon & Rectum - 28,630 male deaths Pancreas - 24,640 male deaths Liver & Intrahepatic Bile Duct - 20,020 male deaths

People of color should be screened by age 40

I always heard that if you had relatives with colon cancer that you should start getting screened at 10 years younger than they were when they were diagnosed.

I'm a nurse at a GI clinic so here's the scoop: Screenings start at age 50. If African-American 45. Any AMA guideline changes have not impacted practice at this point. Family history: First degree relatives only, so your parents, siblings, children. Yes, any blood in the stool means you should get a colonoscopy. If you REALLY want one-- the criteria "change in bowel habits" qualifies > this would mean alternating diarrhea and constipation. Meet this benchmark and you can get screened at any age. Caveat: screening colonoscopies are covered at 100% as they are preventative health maintenance. If they find anything however, you pay. P.S. If they offer the Golitely prep, just say no and request Suprep. The difference is shitting out TWO gallons of poop filled liquid rather than a gallon. Enjoy!

R24 that’s a very well put together thought re what you said about how anxiety can be helpful / or not depending on circumstances. Glad to hear you’re making progress.

Got my first colonoscopy at age 48 because I was having an endoscopy done. Since the prep is exactly the same, I INSISTED that the two be done together.

At age 54, I had another endoscopy/colonoscopy done. Again, INSISTED that both be done at the same time.

Both times, tiny polyps were found and removed.

It's about time to do it again.It's been 5 years now. Thanks for starting the thread and reminding me. Am seeing my GP tomorrow and will ask for a referral.

Someone mentioned HPV, that comes and goes...if you had HPV in the past, can you still get the vaccine?

Shit on some cardboard and mail it to the colon lab!

[quote] get an HPV vaccine

Wow, I had no idea about HPV and colon cancer. Isn’t there no much research showing the vaccine being effective for people after a certain age though?

I had mine at 41. Doctor said the American cancer society lowered the age to 45 as of January.

My buddy did the poop test. Probably not great but better than nothing.

A friend of my mother, her daughter was just diagnosed with colon cancer at 42. Just tragic.

I had a colonoscopy at 50 and they found polyps. So they said come back in 5 years instead of 10. It must be very slow-spreading compared to other cancers. 5 years - I could be long dead by then!

I was found to have three polyps on my last colonoscophy and was told to do another in one year.

Don’t most people have them? I’ve heard that colon cancer is a very slow growing cancer.

Have any of the people with polyps had unusual blood clotting? I was diagnosed with DVT and five P/E's this summer. I'm active and my primary is stymied about the cause. I will have a colonoscopy later this month, he wants to rule out colon cancer. My Covid test was negative. My last colonoscopy was six years ago, with no problems.

[quote] I'm active and my primary is stymied about the cause.

Oh, dear.

My friend's mother has stage 4 colon cancer. Her mom had a colonoscopy 3 years ago, but apparently they missed the polyps. I am going to make sure the prep I do does the job. The first time I did it, the waste wasn't clear by the time of the colonoscopy. I think it was the brand of insta-poop they had me use. Also, I learned the hard way to drink plenty of water while doing the prep. I had the worst headache from dehydration and I felt like shit (no pun intended) the rest of the day.

R31 here. There are many types of polyps, most are benign or slow growing and fairly natural/common as we age. Any blood or mucous in the stool indicates the polyp is large/fast growing /potentially cancerous.etc. They are more akin to skin cancers in how they grow and progress.

I was told the age to start is 45 by my doctor. It may have recently changed. I am 49 and thought it started at 50.

Start today, ok?

It’s an extremely slow growing cancer. If someone died at 55, it was happening many years before that. If it’s running in the family, you should have a scope exam by thirty, and every 3-5 years for the rest of your life. Depending on how good your specialist is, if it’s a direct family link that has it, every three years. It very much runs in families.

I took that mail-in colon screening test called Cologuard at age 60. 'when it came back positive, my doctor was concerned and I was worried.

I had a colonoscopy and they found no polyps. In fact, my colon was clean as a whistle.

That crappy home test is a waste of time.

And the same goes for that PSA test for prostate cancer. Never again will I take it since it doesn't detect cancer, just prostate activity.

I get the lesser reliable blood test at my yearly physical. I just don’t want the bother with the other, invasive test.

I get the lesser reliable blood test at my yearly physical. I just don’t want the bother with the other, invasive test.

50 usually unless you have a history or are high risk.