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Anyone have a positive Cologuard test?
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Sep 25 7:14pm | Replies (208)Comment receiving replies
@melelliott50, it is scary to get a positive result. Your doctor will most likely ask you to get a colonoscopy since that is still the golden standard of care to find polyps and/or CR cancer. Try to think positively: it might be a false positive; if not, it will probably have allowed you to find the cancer at an early stage with the best chance possible of a successful treatment that would not need to be so heavy.
Sending a hug.
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Everything Vero says is true.
I wish to add that colon cancer is very much treatable and survivable - even an advanced case like mine which was detected via Cologuard followed by a colonoscopy back in January 2021.
In short, don't panic, but get that colonoscopy soon. It's helpful to get facts from reliable sources on the internet - facts help to dispel fear.
I read of a new test being researched that is better and it's 85% accurate per early tests. This one is years off before we see it available, but the implication is that the Cologuard test isn't all that effective/accurate or they wouldn't be working to replace it with something better.
More on the Cologuard test:
"Cologuard can detect 92% of cancers but only 42% of large precancerous polyps. In other words, no, it is not accurate, especially when it comes to preventing cancer by detecting polyps."
"While it is better at detecting cancer than FIT (74% vs 92% for FIT test vs Cologuard), the false positive rate is higher. The Cologuard false-positive rate is 13%, and that rate increases as people age."
Source: https://www.gastroconsa.com/the-truth-about-cologuard-tests/
Hope that helps.