When colorectal cancer is caught early through screening, a person with colorectal cancer has a 90% chance of being cured.
ColonCancerCheck (CCC) screens 2 groups of eligible people: those at average risk of getting colon cancer and those at increased risk of getting colon cancer.
Average Risk
People who are 50 to 74 years old and have had no parents, brothers, sisters or children (first-degree relatives) with colon cancer should get screened with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) every 2 years starting at age 50.
Ordering FIT for a patient
- FIT kits can
only be requested for eligible, average risk people by completing the Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario)
FIT Requisition. Other laboratory requisitions
will not be accepted.
- Ensure the patient information (name, address, date of birth) is correct before submitting the requisition form to LifeLabs.
- Completed requisitions must be submitted to LifeLabs by fax: 1-833-676-1426.
- LifeLabs will mail the FIT kit directly to the patient. Primary care providers will not be provided with an inventory of FIT kits.
- The FIT requisition is available for easy uploading into all OntarioMD-Certified EMRs. Email
support@ontariomd.com for support if required.
If someone does not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, they can get a FIT by calling Health811 (call 811).
Abnormal FIT results
- Patients with an abnormal FIT result should have a colonoscopy within 8 weeks of their abnormal result.
- Timely follow-up of an abnormal FIT result with colonoscopy is particularly important due to the high likelihood of abnormal findings.
- Patients with an abnormal FIT result should be referred for colonoscopy to a facility that has the expertise and resources to perform colonoscopies in people with an abnormal FIT result.
- A list of facilities funded by Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) to provide colonoscopies for patients with an abnormal FIT result is available at
cancercareontario.ca/FITcolonoscopy. A list of facilities in the Toronto Central region is available under
Diagnosis and Management.
Increased Risk
People who have had 1 or more first-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters or children) with colon cancer should get screened with a colonoscopy starting at age 50, or 10 years earlier than the age their first-degree relative was diagnosed with colon cancer, whichever comes first. How often they get screened depends on the age their first-degree relative was diagnosed.
Resources
