Dreading a colonoscopy? There are alternatives

Dear Savvy Senior,

Are location immoderate easier alternatives to a colonoscopy to surface for colon cancer? I conscionable turned 60 and my woman keeps nagging maine to get tested, but I dislike nan thought of drinking that laxative solution and being sedated for nan procedure.

— Squeamish Steven

Dear Steven,

While a colonoscopy remains nan astir meticulous screening trial for detecting colon crab (94 percent accurate), location are different easier – though little meticulous – tests available. But beryllium alert that if nan consequence of 1 of these tests are positive, you’ll still request to acquisition a colonoscopy. Here’s what you should know.
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Screening Guidelines

Colorectal cancer, which develops slow complete respective years without causing symptoms particularly successful nan early stages, is nan 2nd largest crab slayer successful nan U.S., claiming much than 50,000 Americans each year.

Colorectal crab screening guidelines from nan U.S. Preventive Services Taskforce and nan American Cancer Society telephone for astir adults to get screened starting astatine property 45 and continuing done property 75. Earlier screenings, however, are recommended to group who person an accrued consequence owed to family history of colorectal crab aliases polyps, aliases a individual history of inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s illness aliases ulcerative colitis.

But contempt these guidelines, and nan truth that colonoscopies prevention an estimated 20,000 U.S. lives each year, astir 40 percent of eligible group don’t get screened.

Why? Because astir people, for illustration yourself, dread nan laxative prep and sedation, not to mention nan process itself.

But a colonoscopy is not your only action for screening for colon cancer. There are presently respective types of FDA approved stool tests that you tin return successful nan privateness of your ain location that requires nary laxative-taking/bowel-cleansing preparation. The 2 astir meticulous that you should inquire your expert astir are the:

Fecal immunochemical trial (FIT): This trial looks for hidden humor successful your stool, which suggests polyps aliases moreover cancer. Your expert will springiness you a FIT trial kit to usage astatine home. You return a mini sample of stool and message it to a laboratory to beryllium analyzed. You don’t request to do immoderate prep. The costs of this yearly trial is covered by backstage security and Medicare. FIT has an almost 80 percent accuracy complaint for detecting colon cancer, but it detects only astir 28 percent of precocious polyps that mightiness move into cancer.

Stool DNA trial (Cologuard): This screening kit looks for hidden humor arsenic good arsenic altered DNA successful your stool. Your expert will bid nan test, and you will person nan postulation kit successful nan mail. You do nan trial astatine location each 3 years and nonstop your stool samples to Cologuard via UPS. No typical prep aliases alteration to your fare aliases medicine schedule is required. Cologuard, which is covered by astir backstage insurers and Medicare, detects 92 percent of colon cancers but only 42 percent of ample precancerous polyps. It besides whitethorn supply a false-positive, indicating that you mightiness person crab erstwhile you don’t.

New Blood Test

There’s besides a caller experimental colon crab humor trial you should inquire your expert astir called nan “Shield humor test.” This caller test, developed by Guardant Health, detects much than 80 percent of colon cancers early erstwhile they’re astir treatable.

Guardant is presently seeking FDA support to marketplace nan trial but it’s disposable now arsenic a “lab-based test” (which does not require FDA approval) but it’s presently not covered by astir backstage insurers aliases Medicare. Your expert will request to petition this test, which costs $895, astatine BloodBasedScreening.com.

Send your elder questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, aliases sojourn SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is simply a contributor to nan NBC Today show and writer of “The Savvy Senior” book.