10 Crucial Health Tweaks to Make by Your 50s

Get a colonoscopy

For most people, your 50th birthday is the signal that it’s time for a first colonoscopy screening—and you should know the best time to schedule your colonoscopy. During the procedure, your doctor will use a long, lighted tube called a colonoscope to examine your colon for polyps, which can be early signs of colon cancer. The procedure, which is done while you’re under sedation, is painless and the benefits are great. Discovered early, colon cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer—but it rarely has symptoms until it’s progressed to a deadlier stage. According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of new cases occur in people over age 50. Colon cancer usually begins as a small, slow growing growth in the colon that, if left unchecked, can progress into cancer. “It is a disease that is 90 percent beatable if caught early,” says Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance. For those fearful of the procedure, which requires sedation and taking a day off of work, other procedures are available, but the colonoscopy is the most complete screening method available because it can identify and remove polyps in a single session and there’s really nothing to be nervous about. Check out these colonoscopy prep tips from doctors. “If you are not doing it for yourself, do it for others—your family,” says Sapienza. While most adults have a first colonoscopy at age 50, those with risk factors such as a family history of colon cancer, may need to be screened at an earlier age.

 

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