Ask the Expert: Colorectal Cancer [Video]

The Expert:

Dr. Fola May, M.D, Ph.D, M.Phil

When should people start screening for colorectal cancer? How often should you get screened?

Screening for colorectal cancer actually depends on what your level of risk is, so if you’re an individual who doesn’t have a medical condition that predisposes you to colorectal cancer and if you have no one in your family who’s had this condition, you actually will start screening at age 45. And depending on the test, you will get screened every 10 years. If you pick a colonoscopy, um, some of the less invasive tests that you can do at home – the stool kits – you need to do that every one to three years. Now, if you do have a family history of colorectal cancer — so if you have a mother, a father, a brother or a sister who’s had this disease —we actually are going to start screening you earlier. So, we’ll …