All men and women ages 50 and older should be screened for colorectal cancer. Research indicates that the willingness of adults to utilize colorectal cancer screening tests depends on multiple factors, including individual disease risk, personal preference, and physician recommendation. Discussing the importance of colorectal cancer screening tests with patients is critically important to their use of these preventive services.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the United States, excluding skin cancers, and the third leading cause of cancer-related death in New York State (NYS). More than 10,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed each year in NYS, and approximately 3,500 men and women die from the disease annually.
The rate at which people are diagnosed with colon cancer in the U.S. has dropped 30 percent in the last 10 years for those aged 50 years and older, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. Researchers credit the drop to more people getting recommended screening tests. Screening is the process of looking for cancer or pre-cancer in people who have no symptoms of the disease. Death rates from colon cancer have also declined rapidly within the last decade. The report says even more deaths could be avoided if everyone got their screening tests on time.
Colorectal cancer screening is a preventive health service and an essential health benefit under the Affordable Care Act, so health insurance plans must cover colorectal cancer screening with no patient cost sharing, copayment or coinsurance, even if a patient hasn’t met their yearly deductible.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends that average-risk men and women begin regular colorectal cancer screening at age 50 with any of three tests: a high sensitivity, multi-slide fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year, a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years with a high-sensitivity fecal test every three years, or a colonoscopy every 10 years.
Patients with a personal or family history of colorectal cancer, history of intestinal polyps or inflammatory bowel disease, and people with a history of certain inherited diseases such as familial adenomatous polyposis and hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer are at increased risk and may need to begin regular screening earlier.
The five-year survival rate for persons who received a diagnosis of localized colorectal cancer is 91 percent, compared with 70 percent for regional-stage cancer and 11 percent for distant-stage cancer. Colorectal cancer screening tests have been proven to reduce mortality through detection of early-stage cancer and detection of adenomatous polyps before they progress into cancer.
The New York State Department of Health Cancer Services Program (CSP) oversees the delivery of guideline-concordant, comprehensive breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening services to eligible New Yorkers in every county and borough in the State. Men and women who are uninsured for these screening services can contact their local CSP to find out how to get free colorectal, breast and cervical cancer screening.
Call 1-866-442-CANCER (2262) to find a Cancer Services Program in your community. Information about the CSP can be found on-line at www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/screening/, and information about colorectal cancer can be found on-line at www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/colorectal/.
