The American Cancer Society says colonoscopies on people aged 45 to 49 increased by 43% from 2019 to 2023. The tests are finding cancer cases earlier, when they're more curable.

Recent data from the American Cancer Society indicates a 43% increase in colonoscopies among people aged 45 to 49 over a four-year period. This uptick follows updated guidelines recommending earlier screening due to rising colon cancer rates in younger adults. Detecting cancer at earlier stages makes it more treatable, with early-stage cases having over a 90% cure rate.

Medical experts emphasize that most colon cancers begin as benign polyps, which can be removed during colonoscopy to prevent cancer from developing. While screening rates have improved, they remain lower than ideal, with about one-third of eligible adults in the 45 to 49 age group being screened. Both colonoscopies and stool tests are available, but colonoscopies remain the gold standard for detecting and removing polyps.

Why more colon cancer cases are being detected early

In this morning's Health Watch, some good news about younger people getting screened for colon cancer. The American Cancer Society says colonoscopies on people aged 45 to 49 increased by 43% from 2019 to 2023. These tests are finding cancer cases earlier when they are more curable. CBS News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jean-Luc Poucq joins us right now. He's also a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health. Did I say that correctly? You did. Well done. All right. Good morning. Thank you, sir. Good to see you. So what do you make of these findings? Well, I'm smiling, right? It's really good news. Because back in 2018, the American Cancer Society said, you know what, let's start screening people at 45 if they're at average risk rather than 50. Why? Why? Because we've been seeing for many years colon cancer affecting younger and younger people for unclear reasons. So they said, fine, we'll start screening. We should pick up those cancers hopefully at an earlier stage when they're more curable, right? I mean, if they're in the very earliest stage, they're more than 90% curable. And that's exactly what happened. Now, what are some early warning signs that people should watch out for? Well, you know, we've talked about those before, which are things like change in bowel habits, constipation, bleeding, anemia, fatigue, iron deficiency. But you know something? I don't want people to get to that stage. You want to get to the point where you can do it before you get the symptoms of colon cancer. So what happens is a colon polyp starts off being benign. Almost every colon cancer starts off as a benign colon polyp. And then it can be in you totally benign for years. If at any point you do a colonoscopy and you find a benign polyp that was destined to become a colon cancer and you remove it, instead of getting colon cancer, you do not get colon cancer. So it is really an amazing thing to be able to not only diagnose a polyp, but at the time of the procedure, take the polyp out and prevent somebody from getting cancer. I'm in my mid-40s. I recently got a colonoscopy, and there is this overwhelming sense that I had a peace of mind moving forward. They say ignorance is bliss. When I was younger, I thought I didn't need anything. I was invincible. But with all of that said, even though individuals like me are getting colonoscopies, rates are still low. Why? Yeah, they're too low. I mean, there's about a third in this age group from 45 to 49, which is better than 1 in 5, which was in 2019. Getting better. The colonoscopy is the gold standard. Stool tests may be easier for some people. They're pretty good at picking up colon cancer, not as good for colon polyps. But basically, let's get the word out. Get screened. It could save your life. There you go. Get the word out and get screened. All right, Dr. John LePook, thank you so much.

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