But requiring clear liquids might also contribute to the fact that screening for colorectal cancer lags behind screening for other cancers.
The clear liquids mantra stems from the need to make sure that nothing obstructs the doctor's view during the colonoscopy, which would kind of defeat its purpose. Preventive Services Task Force reaffirmed its 2008 recommendation that adults at average risk of developing colorectal cancer get screened beginning at age 50 and continuing until age 75. Colonoscopy also can detect early cancers, improving the chance of recovery. In a draft document posted last October, the U.S. Those polyps are pretty common-a third of Americans over age 65 have them, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services. But the death rate has been falling for several decades, in part because of screening by colonoscopy, which can find colorectal polyps and remove then before they have a chance to progress to cancer.
