cases among young people has led the United States Preventive Services Task Force to establish new guidelines. Medical experts are now officially recommending that people of average risk start getting screened for colon cancer at age 45, rather than 50, which was the previous standard.
Colorectal cancer impacts the gastrointestinal system's final segment. It is the second leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths, and yet, it remains one of the most treatable, even curable cancers, when caught in its early stages.Until recently, screening was not generally recommended for the below-50 crowd. This led to potentially vulnerable, or even sick adults putting off testing thinking their symptoms did not rise to the level of firm diagnosis.
In the past decade, those under 50 have roughly doubled their share of overall U.S. colon and rectal cancer cases. By the year 2030, colorectal cancer is on track to nearly double in people under 50, according to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Beginning to screen at this new, lower age can avert more early deaths, and help to reverse the current trend, experts say.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)