The Power of Prevention: What You Can Do About Colorectal Cancer

"How can I prevent cancer?"

Five words. A simple enough question. And one many have Googled at some point, only to be met with answers like “eat more greens” or “exercise 30 minutes a day.” Helpful? Sure. Certain? Not exactly.

Because while research shows that healthy habits can support overall health, and therefore may lower cancer risk,¹ there is still no proven formula that guarantees cancer prevention. Even the healthiest, most active, seemingly a-symptomatic people can find themselves facing a diagnosis they never saw coming.

That uncertainty can feel unsettling. But it doesn’t mean we’re powerless.

Especially when it comes to colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is often deemed the most preventable, yet least prevented cancer.² It's also the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for roughly 10% of all cancer cases.³

While no prevention strategy comes with guarantees, colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers that can often be prevented through routine screening, by finding and removing precancerous polyps before they ever turn into cancer.

Cancer has a way of taking control—of timelines, plans, and choices. In honor of Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, we spoke with experts and patients to identify concrete actions everyone can take to take back some of that control. The consensus? Get informed.

By staying up-to-date on screening and rescreening, making sure you understand your hereditary risk, and spreading awareness to family, friends, and others, you can use knowledge to protect your future and that of the ones you love most.

Insights: know your risk and know when to get screened.

Colorectal cancer screening doesn’t look the same for everyone. For individuals at average risk—meaning, those who have no symptoms or any personal or familial history of colorectal cancer—the American Cancer Society recommends beginning colorectal cancer screening at age 45. That age shift, which was lowered from 50 in recent years, reflects the troubling rise of colorectal cancer diagnoses among younger adults.⁴

Tim was one of them.

A Massachusetts native, union painter, and proud grandpa, he had no family history of CRC. By all accounts, he was average risk, so his recommended screening age was 45. At his doctor’s recommendation, he screened with Cologuard^® at 46, just after the guidelines had changed.

The result? Stage III colorectal cancer.

His cancer has since been treated, and today he is cancer-free. But had he waited even a year longer, his story might have looked very different.

“I sat there with my oncology nurse one time and she asked me my story. It was right around Thanksgiving,” Tim said. “I told her the whole story and how it worked out and she told me that I had saved my own life. If I had waited until I was 50, they would be trying to get me through Christmas right now.

Tim didn’t have any known risk factors, but for others, family history or inherited genetic mutations can increase risk and change when and how often they should be screened.

That’s why prevention can also come in the form of understanding your personal risk. Hereditary risk can alter your screening timeline significantly. Some individuals may need to begin screening earlier than 45 or screen more frequently based on genetic factors or family history. Tools like Riskguard^®, a hereditary cancer test from Exact Sciences, are designed to help provide that clarity.

Using a blood or saliva sample, Riskguard analyzes specific genes associated with increased cancer risk. The test provides an individualized report outlining gene-specific and familial risks for 10 common cancers, including colorectal cancer. That information can help patients and their healthcare providers make more informed decisions about screening, prevention, and even risks to other family members.

“Riskguard is a genetic test that can help patients understand their risk of developing certain cancers to inform screening, treatment and risks to other family members,” said Brandie Leach, MS, CGC, Senior Director, Medical Affairs at Exact Sciences. “We believe that helping people identify their risks, and take informed actions to reduce those risks, is a crucial step to help eradicate cancer and the suffering it causes.”

Prevention in this form, by way of knowledge and insights into your health, isn’t necessarily flashy. It doesn’t always come with symptoms or warning signs. Sometimes it’s simply a conversation with your doctor, a look at your family history, a genetic test, or a birthday that signals it’s time.

Action: stay up-to-date on screening

When it comes to colorectal cancer, screening is one of the most powerful defenses we have. Regular screening can help prevent colorectal cancer by detecting and removing precancerous growths called polyps before they turn into cancer.

Screening can also find cancer early, when treatment is often more successful. Research shows that staying up to date with recommended screening, whether through a stool-based test like Cologuard or a visual exam like colonoscopy, reduces both colorectal cancer incidence and death.4

Anne knows that firsthand.

A former college athlete and now entrepreneur, Anne has always taken her health seriously. So when her doctor told her she was at the recommended age to begin colorectal cancer screening and suggested Cologuard, she didn’t hesitate. She also didn’t expect a positive result.

“I know the value of preventive medicine, and so there was nothing I was worried about at all,” Anne said. “Getting a positive Cologuard was a real surprise.”

Her follow-up colonoscopy revealed precancerous polyps, which were removed during the procedure. Pathology confirmed she had pre-cancer, which are cells that could have developed into colorectal cancer over time. Instead, because she screened when recommended, those polyps were caught and removed before they had the chance.

She had, quite literally, stopped cancer in its tracks.

“I was just feeling really glad that we caught this,” Anne said. “Even knowing it wasn’t cancer, I understood that it could be. Where would it have been if I had waited until 50?”

That question lingers for her, especially as colorectal cancer diagnoses continue to rise among younger adults.⁴

“I was grateful. That’s the word I would use,” she said. “We could have caught something that could have been bad or lethal.”

Because of her results, Anne was placed on a more frequent surveillance schedule. She’s been diligent about rescreening, returning for a colonoscopy the following year, where three more polyps were found and removed—two of them adenomatous, meaning they had the potential to become cancerous. She went back again the next year. Her latest colonoscopy was her best yet.

“My most recent was clean, nothing was removed,” Anne said. “So they gave me two years! I get a year off.”

For Anne, staying consistent with screening hasn't just been a series of tests. It has given her time she might not have had otherwise.

“Most people don’t find anything, or if you do, you deal with it,” she said. “It buys you time. You can tell yourself, I don’t have to worry about it.”

That’s what prevention can look like: finding and removing something before it ever becomes cancer. It gives you a chance to face something early, on your terms.

Awareness: spreading the word

Prevention doesn’t end with you. Sometimes, one of the most powerful tools you have to help stop colorectal cancer from going undetected is your voice: A reminder, a conversation, a story shared at the right time.

For Scott, that moment came unexpectedly at a golf tournament.

An Arizona native and avid golfer, Scott attended the Cologuard Classic in 2020. He considered himself healthy and active, not the kind of person who needed to worry about colorectal cancer.

“I never really looked into screening because of course those things don’t happen to super healthy people like me,” Scott said. “I rationalized it.”

Like many people, he had his reasons for delaying screening—no symptoms, no family history, and a general reluctance to walk into a doctor’s office. But seeing the visibility around screening at the tournament shifted something.

“All I heard growing up was that old guys get colonoscopies when they get old,” he said. “So when I went to the tournament and saw the Cologuard tent and all that, I thought this must be a gamechanger.”

Because of that experience, later that year, when his doctor recommended screening with Cologuard, Scott didn’t brush it off. He screened with Cologuard and to his surprise, his result came back positive. A follow-up colonoscopy revealed a tennis ball-sized tumor. He needed surgery, and quickly.

“My surgeon said they had to open me up because the growth was so big,” Scott recalled. “He told me that it’s concerning, but he doesn't know yet. We’d have to wait for pathology. That was super terrifying.”

Despite the size of the tumor, surgery was curative. Scott didn’t require chemotherapy. He was cancer-free.

And almost immediately, he picked up the phone.

“After my surgery, I called all of my bros,” he said. “I’m like, listen guys, I know we’re all healthy and I know nothing bad ever happens to us, but do me a favor, call your doctor today and get this scheduled. I do not want my buds to go through this.”

“Of the ten people I probably reached out to in my closest group of friends, at least five have gotten screened as a result.”

That number will likely grow as Scott and others continue to share their stories. Since Scott attended the Cologuard Classic in 2020, the number of advocates such as himself who have attended the tournament has grown from about 50 to now 400.

Prevention starts with you

Colorectal cancer doesn’t have to be inevitable.

Screening can find cancer early, or even prevent it by detecting and removing precancerous changes before they develop into colorectal cancer. We have ways to gain knowledge and insights that can clarify personal and hereditary risk. And we have the ability to have conversations that can move the people we love.

This Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, prevention can be as simple as making one decision to act.

Scott, Anne, and Tim are patient ambassadors. Tim volunteered to share his story as part of a patient ambassador program, and has had travel expenses covered through the program.

These stories reflect on individual experiences. Not every person will have the same treatment, experience, outcome, or result. The Cologuard test is prescribed by your health care provider. Talk to your health care provider about available screening options and whether the Cologuard test may be right for you. There are potential risks associated with the Cologuard test and it may not be appropriate for all patients. For more information about the risks, talk to your health care provider or visit cologuard.com for more information.

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References:

1. American Cancer Society. How Diet and Physical Activity Impact Cancer Risk. American Cancer Society. Updated 2025. Accessed February 19, 2026. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/diet-physical-activity/how-diet-and-physical-activity-impact-cancer-risk.html
2. Itzkowitz SH. Incremental advances in excremental cancer detection tests. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009;101(18):1225-1227.
3. Update to: Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3):229-263.
4. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2025. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2025. Accessed February 19, 2026. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2025/2025-cancer-facts-and-figures-acs.pdf