04/10/2026
New cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) in younger adults have been rising since the early 2000s. For Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the theme this year focused on a national call to lower the screening age from 50 to 45 in Canada.
One of our research assistants, Dr. Erica Rizzolo, ND, shared that in March alone, she worked with three new patients who had been diagnosed with CRC in their 30s.
As said in a recent post, colorectal cancer awareness month has ended, but the movement hasn’t.
CRC remains one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide, but it is also one of the most preventable and treatable when appropriate screening is followed.
With cases rising in younger adults (25-49), and many of those cases being diagnosed at later stages (stage 3, stage 4), there is a strong rationale for lowering the screening age.
Additionally, a 2021 modelling study shows that initiating earlier screening leads to more life-years gained, and reductions in lifetime risk of developing and dying from CRC.
In 2024, Australia lowered the eligible starting age of their National Bowel Cancer Screening Program from 50 to 45 years old. Several organizations in Canada, including the Canadian Cancer Society, Colorectal Cancer Canada and the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network, are advocating for CRC screening at 45.
If you or someone you know has symptoms of CRC, is at high risk, or meets the average risk criteria, talk to your family doctor, nurse practitioner, or request a FIT by contacting Health811 at 811 (for those in Ontario). For those living on a First Nation reserve, contact your health centre or nursing station for more information.
