The At-Home Colon Cancer Test: Is It a Smart Choice for You?

Screening guidelines released in 2021 recommend your first colonoscopy screening at age 45. Colonoscopies are a vital tool for detecting colon cancer and provide a comprehensive view of your colon.

However, if you prefer a more private option, you may be considering an at-home colon cancer screening test. It’s important to consider how it fits into your overall health needs.

“For years, screening for colon cancer required a visit to your local healthcare provider,” says Dr. Richard P. Stewart, a board-certified gastroenterologist at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group Specialty Care. “If you are at average risk of colon cancer, you can now undergo colorectal cancer screening with a test kit in the comfort of your own home. It’s an alternative option, as long as you understand the test’s limitations.”

Read More: Early Signs of Colorectal Cancer: What Adults Under 50 Should Know

How to Use an At-Home Colon Cancer Test

For a colonoscopy, you have to watch your diet for a few days, spend 24 hours clearing your bowels and avoid eating or drinking the day of your exam. Since you receive anesthesia during the exam, you also need someone to drive you to and from your test.

At-home colon cancer tests don’t require any preparation. You just follow three simple steps.

1. Request the test — Your healthcare provider can order your test and have it shipped to your home.
2. Take the test — While having a bowel movement, you collect a small stool sample and place it in a container provided with your test. Preserving liquid may be provided to pour into your sample container. Read the instructions that come with your test and follow them closely.
3. Submit the test — Place your stool sample container into the provided shipping container and send it to the laboratory immediately.

Soon afterward, the results get sent to your healthcare provider, who relays them to you.

For the clearest results, keep urine and toilet paper out of your sample. Also, bleeding rectally or vaginally or diarrhea can affect your results, so wait to collect your sample if necessary.

Read More: Are Colon Polyps Always a Sign of Colorectal Cancer?

Types of At-Home Colon Cancer Tests

Currently, there are three types of colon cancer tests you can perform at home. These are:

• Fecal immunochemical test (FIT) — Special antibodies detect blood in the lower intestine with this annual test. If present, blood in the stool can indicate colorectal cancer.
• Guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) — Instead of antibodies, gFOBT identifies blood in your stool with a chemical called guaiac. You’ll need to repeat this test every year for early detection of colon cancer and polyps.
• Stool DNA test — Also called a FIT-DNA test, this test looks for blood in your stool and identifies altered DNA that may be caused by cancer. Cologuard, which is heavily advertised on television, is a type of at-home colon cancer test. This test is recommended every three years after a negative result.

Read More: Is Colon Cancer Hereditary? Know Your Risk and What to Do About It

The Effectiveness of At-Home Colorectal Cancer Tests

Sometimes, it’s easy to see blood in your stool. At-home colon cancer tests detect tiny amounts of blood before it can be seen by the naked eye, and they’re very good at doing this. In fact, they’re so good that the American Cancer Society recently partnered with Color Health to provide free at-home colorectal cancer screening tests for people living in rural areas.

Despite this, no DIY test is perfect. Make a mistake when collecting your sample, and you may have to retake the test. You may also get incorrect results after the test.

False Positives

A false positive occurs when your test indicates you have cancer, but you don’t. If you have cancer and the test misses it, that’s a false negative. Both occur with all types of screening tests, but they’re more common with at-home screenings.

“Any time you get incorrect information, it changes your cancer care journey. That’s why these tests have to be repeated more often,” Dr. Stewart says. “To offset the risk of getting incorrect information, it’s best to undergo testing more frequently.”

The Biggest Limitation

New research out of The Ohio State University found that at-home colon cancer testing is a powerful tool for preventing the risk from colorectal cancer. This is exciting news, but Dr. Stewart encourages you to keep one thing in mind.

“These home-based tests can’t actually diagnose colorectal cancer,” he says. “They simply indicate that cancer and/or colon polyps might be present. A clear diagnosis requires more testing.”

The test that typically diagnoses colorectal cancer is a colonoscopy. If you have a positive result from an at-home colorectal cancer screening test, a colonoscopy must confirm the finding.

Colonoscopies: The Gold Standard in Colon Cancer Diagnosis

A colonoscopy is a procedure that allows a doctor to examine the lining of the colon and rectum using a long, flexible tube with a camera called a colonoscope. During the procedure, the doctor can also detect polyps and, if abnormal growths are found, take biopsies, providing accurate results and treatment options.

Other benefits of colonoscopy include the following:

• Dual purposes — In addition to detecting abnormal growths, your gastroenterologist can remove them during your colonoscopy. This can prevent polyps from developing into cancer, so you don’t need additional colorectal cancer treatment.
• Less frequent testing — If you’re at average risk for colorectal cancer and have no abnormalities on your colonoscopy, you don’t need another colonoscopy for a decade.
• Time-saving — Because colonoscopy can detect and treat polyps and cancerous growths, you may not need additional testing or treatment.

“There is a growing place in medicine for at-home colon cancer screening, as it encourages many people to get tested who may not otherwise,” Dr. Stewart says. “That said, colonoscopies save lives in real-time. Polyps and suspicious lesions can be removed during a routine colonoscopy.”

Read More: How to Make Your Colonoscopy Prep Drink Easier to Stomach

Considering an At-Home Colon Cancer Test?

They’re becoming more popular, and an at-home colon cancer test may be right for you. Here’s what you should know.

1. Testing is a simple process. You receive the test kit at home, collect a stool sample and send it to a laboratory.
2. Three test types detect blood in the stool in different ways. Another test also looks for abnormal DNA in your stool sample.
3. If an at-home test indicates cancer may be present, a colonoscopy is necessary for final diagnosis. For this reason and others, you may find that colonoscopy is the more convenient choice.

Find a Beaufort Memorial cancer care specialist anytime online.