Colon Cancer Risk With No Family History
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
I heard if I do not have anyone in my family who has had colon cancer that I don't need to do the screening. Is that true?
Carmen E. Guerra, M.D., M.S., Associate Professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine, responds:
Even if you do not have a family history of colon or rectal cancer, you have a lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer that approximates 6%. Therefore, if you are over 50, you should undergo colorectal cancer screening with one of the guideline approved tests such as a stool test, a colonoscopy, a flexible sigmoidoscopy or CT colonography.
This question and answer was part of the OncoLink Brown Bag Chat Series. See the full transcript of Advances in Colorectal Cancer Screening.
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