When should I have a colonoscopy?

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A screening colonscopy starts at age 50 unless you are having symptoms. If, however, there is a family history of colon or colon cancer of a primary blood relative then your physician may decide that a colonscopy should be done even earlier than age 50. By the way, a primary blood relative refers to a mother, father, brother, or sister.

By age 50, the prevalence of adenomatous polyps rises significantly compared to adults younger than 50.

Reference:

Phillips, K. L., Smith, M. L., Ahn, S., Ory, M. G., & Hochhalter, A. K. (2013;2012). Correlates of initiating colorectal cancer screening beginning at age 50. Journal of Community Health, 38, 23-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007s10900-012-9574-8

American Cancer Society screening recommendations:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colonandrectumcancer/moreinformation/colonandrectumcancerearlydetection/colorectal-cancer-early-detection-acs-recommendations