ColonCancerCheck

Colorectal Cancer Screening at a Glance

What: 
ColonCancerCheck - colorectal cancer screening program

Who:
Average risk: People aged 50-74 years with no family history of colorectal cancer
High risk: People who have a first-degree relative (i.e., parent, sibling or child) with a history of colorectal cancer

When:
Average risk: Every two years with a Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT)
High risk: Colonoscopy is recommended beginning at age 50 or ten years earlier than the age at which their relative was diagnosed, whichever occurs first 

How: 
LifeLabs will mail eligible people a FIT kit following a request from their family doctor or nurse practitioner. Screening participants should mail their completed FIT to LifeLabs or drop it off at a LifeLabs Patient Service Centre as soon as possible.

Transition to Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT)

Ontario has transitioned from the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) to FIT for colon cancer screening. FIT is a simple, safe and painless at-home cancer screening test that checks your stool (poop) for tiny amounts of blood, which could be caused by colon cancer and/or pre-cancerous polyps (growths in the colon or rectum that can turn into cancer over time).

To support the transition to FIT, a resource hub has been created to provide updates, highlight changes, and share tools with primary care providers.

Click here to access the FIT Resource Hub. 

Click here to download the Transition to FIT FAQ document for primary care providers. 

For more information about the roles healthcare providers play in Ontario’s colorectal cancer screening program, visit Cancer Care Ontario's website.

Resources:

Colonoscopy Referral Forms:

Reference: Cancer Care Ontario