Dr. Gregory Cooper, a gastroenterologist at University Hospitals, hopes to allay the fears associated with the test with sDNA, new technology he's researching that only requires a stool sample. He talks to us about the importance of colon cancer screening.
Ten years ago only 40 percent of adults were screened. We're at 60 percent today and hoping to get to 80 percent in the next 10 years. The prevalence of colon cancer and polyps doesn't start going up until age 50. Screening is important because the vast majority of precancerous polyps do not cause symptoms. Screening is the only way to detect and remove them. Approximately 4 to 5 percent of the general public will develop colon cancer with age and genetics as the highest risk factors. If caught early, the survival rate is 90 percent. If the cancer has metastasized to other organs, the five-year survival rate is less than 13 percent. The best test is the one that gets done. — as told to Barry Goodrich
