Colon cancer awareness month: Stool-sample testing is an option

FARGO (KVRR) – It is Colon Cancer Awareness month and medical providers want to remind people over 45 that it is important to get yourself checked. But there are other ways to have that done outside of a colonoscopy.

“Convenience at doing it in your home allows us to reach more people successfully with the screening. The more people we can reach with the screening the more likely we are to reduce the number of colon cancers that we see in the future.” said Dr. Steven Briggs, a chief medical officer with Sanford Health.

There is stool-based testing which has its merits in the medical field. This type of testing looks for blood and genetic markers to determine what is going in your colon.