age for colonoscopy
If the exam is normal, a colonoscopy should be repeated every 10 years up to the age of 75. If the test detects precancerous polyps, the physician will recommend that colonoscopies be repeated more frequently.
âDeaths from colorectal cancer have been going down over the past 10 years, and probably 50 percent of that reduction is due to screening.â. Guidelines say that at age 50, everyone should consider having a screening test for colon cancer. (About 90 percent of new cases and 95 percent of colon cancer deaths occur after age 50.) Screening are a test for blood in the stool, repeated annually; an exam with a thin, flexible tube called a sigmoidoscope every five years; or a colonoscopy every 10 years.