Colon Cancer Screening

 Your risk of developing cancer in your lifetime is about 45%. A cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. Some types of cancer are highly survivable and an early diagnosis can help make surviving a reality. Getting screened for cancer can make a huge difference in the outcome, so let's talk about screening tests.

About 69 persons in Canada are diagnosed with colon cancer every single day. Most colon cancer happens to older adults, aged 50 and over but this is trending to more young people being diagnosed now.

In Manitoba, screening for colon cancer for most people starts at age 50. If you have a Manitoba Health number, the Colon Check program will mail you a FIT test for you to do at home. This is a Fecal Immunochemical Test and is sent to you once every two years until age 74. Instructions are in the package, and you collect a small amount of stool on a swab and mail it in. You will receive your results by mail in a week or two, and your doctor will also get results. This is an easy, non invasive screening program. If your result is normal nothing further is needed until the next FIT test is due.

If your FIT result is abnormal you will be referred for a colonoscopy. The wait time is short, about a month. You will have an appointment for a review and then a colonoscopy will be scheduled within a week or two. If you have symptoms that include persistent abdominal pain, change of bowel habits lasting at least 2 weeks, or have visible blood in your stool you should contact your doctor for referral for testing even if you are not due for a FIT test.

If you are under 50 and have a personal history of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis), Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) or Lynch Syndrome, have a sibling, parent or child diagnosed with colon cancer under age 60, or have two or more relatives diagnosed at any age you are at increased risk of developing colon cancer. In this case you should be screened with a colonoscopy every 5 to 10 years. Note that Irritable Bowel Syndrome does not increase your risk of colon cancer.

You can reduce your risk of colon cancer by being screened with a FIT test and if necessary by colonoscopy. Also eating healthy by limiting highly processed foods, alcohol and not smoking. The next post will discuss the process of getting a colonoscopy - its not as bad as you think!