There are pros and cons to different screening types. While colonoscopy is the most effective screening exam for colorectal cancer, there are screening kits you can do from the comfort of your home.
The two tests below are the most widely used at-home screening kits. Both have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are valued for their ease of use and effectiveness. Remember that not all at-home kits are covered by insurance, so you may not be able to choose which test you want.
The fecal immune test (FIT) is used to detect blood in stool that cannot be seen with the naked eye. A FIT is often used to detect bleeding in the digestive tract which has no other signs or symptoms. A FIT test may not detect blood from further up the digestive tract (such as the stomach), which means it is more specific to finding blood coming from the colon.
Like FIT, the stool DNA Test detects microscopic amounts of blood in stool, but also looks for certain DNA changes and mutations found in cancerous tumors or precancerous polyps. Cells from precancerous and cancerous lesions with certain mutations often shed DNA biomarkers into the stool, where this test can detect them.
Learn how the Colorectal Cancer Alliance is advocating for the passage of the Nancy Gardner Sewell Multi-Cancer Early Detection Act (HR 2407), a bipartisan bill that ensures immediate Medicare coverage for life-saving cancer detection tests once approved by the FDA.
The Alliance’s 45+ Reasons campaign is part of the Cycles of Impact initiative launched and supported by Independence Blue Cross in 2022 to address the urgent public health issue of colorectal cancer among the Black population.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court decision that had ruled provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which provide for no-cost preventive screening for colorectal cancer and other conditions, unconstitutional.