WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI) -- Doctors warn that too few U.S. residents are getting colon cancer screening.
"We know that colon cancer screening saves lives," said Dr. Jack DiPalma, president of the American College of Gastroenterology. "Yet colorectal screening rates remain very low even though Medicare and many private plans pay for screening tests."
About 148,000 Americans, both women and men, are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and about 55,000 people are expected to die from the disease this year.
DiPalma said that legislation improving access to screening for Medicare patients is pending in Congress. The only measure approved for 2006 waives the deductible.
The academy recommends colonoscopy every 10 years beginning at age 50 or, alternatively, an annual stool test for blood and flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.
