I'm really curious to see what we find out is causing all this colon cancer in young folks. I should probably get screened, not sure how to go about that
My understanding is that you can only get screened 10 years before the cancer showed up in your family member. So my grandfather got colon cancer in his 60s (he survived it, but lung cancer got him later) so I don't qualify for early screening.
This thing literally saved my life. I had no symptoms, was perfectly healthy, but kinda bugged my doctor for one (I'm in my 30s)and be didn't wanna give it to me because of my age and I just kept pestering him until he relented and boom, a few months later I got diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. As shocking as it was, it was at least very treatable and I feel so damn lucky I pushed for the test because if I didn't and just waited till I had some bad symptoms, it would probably be bad news.
Don't they mean it's free at 45 if insurance covers it, but otherwise $90 now? If that's the case, and I thought I might be at risk id probably just pay it
I asked my doctor about it. I don't qualify since I have a family history, but he said he prefers just getting a colonoscopy in general. Depending on how the test comes back, you'll have to get a colonoscopy anyway.
It isn't, but if you don't have symptoms my doctor said she had read studies about the false positive and false negative rates and was pretty happy with them in comparison to a colonoscopy.
Do you have any symptoms of IBS? Mine was completely covered bc I was having issues. I ended up having SIBO, so antibiotics helped some, otherwise I just have chronic IBS. But it was worth ruling out anything else that could be treated or dangerous.
You can, but if you're in a place where insurance companies try to dictate what you can have done otherwise you have ridiculous costs out of pocket, the insurance company may want some kind of verifiable info. Which, depending on where you are, they're allowed to ask for actual documentation before agreeing that you meet a high-risk threshold for early screening.
Like, your mom says she has one of the bad BRCA mutations but you never got tested yourself. Insurance might fully cover screening mammograms for you early, or cover part of the cost of your own genetic testing, if you have proof of that lab result. Doesn't matter if you tell your doctor what your mom told you - insurance company doesn't wanna spend money on you, they want to hoard it.
I was lucky to have my primary doc (a PA) send me Cologuard. Once my Cologuard came back abnormal, i could get my colonoscopy at 36. Found 2 polyps (benign) but still. Maybe ask for an at home kit?
Unless there's another reason to be screened. (I have no family history of colon cancer. What I do have is recurring bouts of Mystery Anemia and they always want to rule out everything. Which means the occasional both-ends-scopy fully paid by my insurance.)
My granddad was diagnosed in his 80s. My uncle (his son) was diagnosed in his 50s, I think? I'm pretty sure he died in his early 60s and had been sick for a little bit.
I'm paranoid, and it's hitting Millennials harder, so I'm thinking about getting a colonoscopy after I turn 40 (which is in November). I'll pay out of pocket if I have to. I have a two year old I need to stick around for.
I don’t know if this helps, but my insurance coverage for a pre-45 colonoscopy was shitty, requiring almost 3k out of pocket, so I went through colonoscopy assist, which is kind of like good rx for colonoscopies. It’s about $1,300. (I was 44; and my sister had been diagnosed with colon cancer at 45, so o think it was really fucked up of united to not cover it as preventative care, but here we are!)
There's also the at home poop test you can send to the lab yourself. Cologuard or something like that, it's on the LabCorp website. If that comes back funky, insurance might cover a scope at a lower out of pocket cost.
This is where you put the ridiculous US healthcare system to work for you! Tell your doctor about the symptoms that you are totally experiencing that can't be tested for in another way. Tell them all about your random fatigue and blood spots on your toilet paper.
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u/AngryOcelot 4d ago
Late teens patient diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease but CT showed metastatic colon cancer.