I'm 76 years old and am wondering when it's no longer necessary to get colon cancer screening? Is there an upper age limit?

There's no upper age limit for colon cancer screening. But most medical organizations in the United States agree that the benefits of screening decline after age 75 for most people and there's little evidence to support continuing screening after age 85.

Discuss colon cancer screening with your health care provider. Together you can consider the benefits and risks of continued screening.

You and your provider might decide that it's a good idea to continue colon cancer screening if any of the following apply to you:

  • You're in excellent health.
  • You've never had colon cancer screening before.
  • You have a factor that increases your risk of colon cancer, such as a strong family history of colon cancer, a previous colon cancer diagnosis or a personal history of colon polyps.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

We use the data you provide to deliver you the content you requested. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, we may combine your email and website data with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, we will only use your protected health information as outlined in our Notice of Privacy Practices. You may opt out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the email.

Dec. 06, 2023 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Abdominal pain
  2. Alternative cancer treatments: 11 options to consider
  3. Belching, intestinal gas, gas pains and bloating
  4. Biopsy procedures
  5. Blood Basics
  6. Cancer blood tests
  7. Cancer survivorship program
  8. Cancer treatment
  9. Chemo targets
  10. Chemotherapy
  11. Chemotherapy and hair loss: What to expect during treatment
  12. Chemotherapy and sex: Is sexual activity OK during treatment?
  13. Chemotherapy for colon cancer
  14. Chemotherapy nausea and vomiting: Prevention is best defense
  15. Colectomy
  16. Colon cancer
  17. Colon Cancer Family Registry
  18. Colon cancer screening
  19. Colon cancer surgery
  20. Colonoscopy
  21. Color Blue Detects Colon Cancer
  22. Colorectal Cancer
  23. Colostomy
  24. Complete blood count (CBC)
  25. CT scan
  26. Diarrhea
  27. Fatigue
  28. Gas and gas pains
  29. GI Stents
  30. Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC)
  31. Ileoanal anastomosis (J-pouch) surgery
  32. Lynch Syndrome
  33. Magic mouthwash
  34. Mayo Clinic Minute: What you need to know about polyps in your colon
  35. Living with an ostomy
  36. Palliative care
  37. PALS (Pets Are Loving Support)
  38. Pelvic exenteration
  39. Radiation therapy
  40. Rectal bleeding
  41. Stool DNA test
  42. Surgical biopsy
  43. Symptom Checker
  44. Unexplained weight loss
  45. Colonoscopy
  46. X-ray