New Option for Diagnosing Cancer

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]A new option to screen for a cancer that's been rising in younger ages is now on the table. For the first time, the American Cancer Society has included a blood test in its screening guideline.

[00:00:12]Now, getting a colonoscopy is still the gold standard, but the American Cancer Society now says that for people who decline or simply can't get visual exams like a colonoscopy or a stool test, then a blood test is recommended since that person otherwise wouldn't be screened at all. And with blood testing, it's recommended to be done every 3 years. It involves having your blood drawn. Then in a lab, the blood is tested for signals for colurectal cancer from tumor DNA that may have shed into your blood.

[00:00:44]If the test comes back positive, then a colonoscopy is recommended. Again, the American Cancer Society says the preferred tests for screening are visual exams like colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy where medical instruments or special imaging are used to look inside your colon and rectum. And stool tests are also preferred in which a fecal sample is tested for signs of cancer. The group says, quote, "At this time, blood-based tests should be recommended only to individuals who decline or do not complete preferred screening tests.