Date: March 11, 2026
Reporter: Mr Johnson
News Platform: Dalena Reporters
Health advocates in Canada are calling for routine colorectal cancer screening to begin at age 45 instead of 50, citing a growing number of younger adults being diagnosed with the disease.
The Canadian Cancer Society says more Canadians under the age of 50 are developing colorectal cancer, prompting the organization to urge provincial and territorial governments to lower the routine screening age.
According to the group, individuals under 50 are now two to 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer than previous generations, a trend experts describe as deeply concerning.
“This growth is something that’s very concerning for us and we think that it’s time for governments to react to that so that we can catch more of these cancers early,” said Brandon Purcell, advocacy manager for prevention and early detection at the Canadian Cancer Society.
Real-Life Case Highlights Risk
The call for earlier screening comes as patients like Michael Groves of Ottawa share their experiences with the disease.
Groves initially went to the emergency department in 2021 with abdominal pain, believing it might be appendicitis. Days later he noticed blood in his stool and informed his doctor. Though the symptoms stopped, his doctor recommended a colonoscopy as a precaution.
During the procedure, doctors discovered a five-centimetre tumour, and Groves was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer, which had already spread to two lymph nodes.
He underwent surgery to remove part of his colon followed by six months of chemotherapy. Groves later said that if screening had begun earlier in his 40s, the cancer might have been detected sooner.
How Screening Works
Currently, routine screening in Canada usually begins at age 50. It often involves a fecal immunochemical test (FIT), which allows people to collect a stool sample at home and send it to a laboratory to check for blood in the stool.
If the test result is positive, the patient is typically referred for a colonoscopy to examine the colon for signs of cancer.
Experts say detecting colorectal cancer early dramatically improves survival rates. When caught early, survival can be as high as 90 per cent, but it drops to less than 15 per cent when the disease is discovered at an advanced stage.
Research Supports Earlier Screening
Recent research supports lowering the screening age. A modelling study published in the Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology estimated that starting screening at 45 could prevent more than 15,000 cases of colorectal cancer and about 6,100 deaths over the next 45 years.
Researchers also estimated the change could save about $233 million in cancer treatment costs, even after accounting for the additional screening tests required.
Health advocates say earlier screening could help identify cancer sooner, remove precancerous growths, and ultimately save thousands of lives across Canada.