patvann/cms130v6-colorectal-cancer-screening

Colorectal Cancer Screening

An estimated 132,700 men and women were diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in 2015. In the same year, 49,700 were estimated to have died from the disease, making colorectal cancer the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States (National Cancer Institute 2015, American Cancer Society 2015).

Screening for colorectal cancer is extremely important as there are no signs or symptoms of the cancer in the early stages. If the disease is caught in its earliest stages, it has a five-year survival rate of 90%; however, the disease is often not caught this early. While screening is extremely effective in detecting colorectal cancer, it remains underutilized (American Cancer Society 2015).

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has identified fecal occult blood tests, colonoscopy, and flexible sigmoidoscopy as effective screening methods (United States Preventive Services Task Force 2008).