New option for diagnosing cancer

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]A new option to screen for cancer that's been rising in younger ages is now on the table. For the first time, [music] 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 [music] for people who decline or simply can't get visual exams like a colonoscopy [music] or a stool test, then a blood test is recommended. Since that person otherwise wouldn't be screened at all. And with [music] 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 [music] signals for colorectal cancer from tumor DNA that may have shed into your blood.

[00:00:43][music] If the test comes back positive, then a colonoscopy is recommended. Again, the American Cancer Society says [music] the preferred test for screening are visual exams like colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy, [music] 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 [music] sample is tested for signs of cancer. The group says, quote, "At this time, blood-based tests [music] should be recommended only to individuals who decline or do not complete preferred screening tests."