Rectal Cancer Screening Lagging

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says fewer than half the Americans over the age of 50 are being screened for colorectal cancer and fewer yet are undergoing lower colon examinations needed every five years.

The American Cancer Society urges both men and women 50 years and older to have yearly fecal occult blood tests, a lower colon examination (sigmoidoscopy) every five years and an entire colon examination every decade.

The CDC says that currently "screening for colorectal cancer lags far behind screening for other cancers, perhaps because the effectiveness of colorectal cancer screening has only recently been documented."

Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), sponsor of legislation urging a campaign to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, says that while "colorectal cancer is still viewed by women largely as a man's disease," it is "an equal opportunity killer, striking men and women at equal rates."

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