Anyone have a Cologuard false negative?

I do not trust Colloguard and other mail-in tests. My healthcare provider aggressively pushed mail-in screenings, which I dutifully did for years, always getting a negative. Their policy was to make patients wait a year before additional screening (a.k.a. a colonoscopy) could be done. I had to file a grievance to get a colonoscopy, and I am glad I did. During my routine colonoscopy, doctors found a cancerous polyp and now I am dealing with stage VI cancer. There is no substitute for a colonoscopy screening. I now tell everyone 45+ to get one.

Colonoscopy still the best screening… more people might do it—but insurance may/may not cover it for everyone…the prep is no fun, but better than it used to be…my PCP doesn’t like Cologuard….as someone who got CRC, I truly recommend people to do it…they can snip polyps before they become cancerous, a lot easier than getting CRC ! The technology keeps getting better at catching things sooner, sparing a lot of suffering .

@nycmusic I always wanted to do the test at home but the doctor didn’t trust them, along with false positives and negatives you could think you’re good to go but later they find cancer. Also, they are able to remove any polyps during the colonoscopy so that’s a big plus, I just find that the prep is brutal.

@nareshkatta, how was your colorectal cancer discovered? What stage?

@colleenyoung No CRC. Had cologuard which was negative 2 years ago. Started having mild abdominal discomfort and bowel changes. Doc asked for colonoscopy. CT was clean. Wondering if CT and Cologuard could go wrong.

@frouke That happened to me. Been getting negative Cologuards for a few years, had colonoscopy last December and discovered stage IV rectal cancer.

I’m truly sorry this happened to you, it didn’t need to happen but sometimes we put too much trust in the medical profession. I just had a colonoscopy today and it wasn’t too bad, the preparation is unpleasant but colon cancer is much worse and the suffering you go through is much more severe, I have read that colon cancer is rising and especially with the younger generation, the diets eaten and sitting too much are a big factor for this. I know that when I was younger I took more risks and didn’t think about the consequences, payback is a bitch. I have to deal with cancer now and it’s an evil disease that wants to destroy us and you’re never the same person again, I think that wisdom comes along late in life and then no one wants to hear what you have to say, I pray that you have the best of care and regain your health because you deserve it.

@frouke the prep feels like medieval torture…..if they ever discover something better, either the prep or a different screening, more people will get tested.

@nycmusic, I totally agree with you, I just had my colonoscopy yesterday and I’m still a little messed up. I read that they had a new procedure that required swallowing some pills, there’s a lot more detail about it but it sounds promising, when I think about it we only have to do a colonoscopy every 3-5 years so that’s not so bad, there’s far more invasive procedures that we might need in our lifetime and at the end of the day they can save our lives, the choice is yours to make.

@frouke, I also know that you can get your colon checked with ct scans and even MRI’s but it’s very costly and if they find anything wrong you’re still going to have a colonoscopy to remove anything, it’s a no win situation to escape the dreaded colon prep.