Colorectal Cancer Screening and Early Detection
At Mount Sinai, we have a program, called CHOICE: Your Colon, Your Choice that gives you choices for your colorectal cancer screening.
Screening for colorectal cancer screening is strongly recommended for everyone, starting at age 45. That’s because screening can help detect growths (polyps) in your colon before they turn into cancer or catch cancer in its earliest stages. Colorectal cancer screening has been proven to save lives. If caught early, colorectal cancer has a 95% survival rate.
To help you stay healthy, the Mount Sinai Health System offers three types of colorectal cancer screening tests. We have highly trained specialists who can answer any questions you may have about colorectal cancer screening and what options are available to you. Our goal is to help everyone, ages 45-75, stay up to date with screening for colorectal cancer.
Types of Colorectal Cancer Screenings
Through the CHOICE program, Mount Sinai is able to offer three different screening options.
- Colonoscopy: This test is widely considered the "gold standard" of colorectal cancer screening tests. The day of the exam you are sedated and your provider uses a tube with a tiny camera to look for and remove polyps and cancer in your colon and rectum. You drink a solution prior to the day of your test to empty your colon. If the test is normal, you should repeat the test in 10 years.
- Fecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT): This is a stool-based test done at home that looks for occult (hidden) blood in the stool. You mail the sample to a lab, and if the results are abnormal, you should get a colonoscopy. If the test is normal, you should repeat the test in 1 year.
- Cologuard Testing (FIT-DNA): This is a stool-based test done at home that looks for occult (hidden) blood and abnormal genetic material (DNA) from polyps or cancer. You mail the sample to a lab, and if the results are abnormal, you should get a colonoscopy. If the test is normal, you should repeat the test in 3 years.
Schedule the Right Screening for You
Our team of experts will be able to answer any questions you may have about colorectal cancer screening and the three testing options provided through the CHOICE program. We help everyone ages 45-75 who are not up to date with colorectal cancer screening schedule a test with a Mount Sinai provider.
When you call our centralized access center you can further discuss your screening options, schedule a screening examination, or find more information about your upcoming examination. Please call 212-824-7887.
If you do not have health insurance you still need to be screened for colorectal cancer and you may be eligible for the New York State Cancer Services Program.
After your screening examination, be sure to get the results of your test. If you have any questions, ask your provider.