text_1: Expert Panel Reaffirms Need for Colon Cancer Screen Beginning at Age 50
text_2: This story about updated colon cancer screening recommendations offers readers a reasonably faithful summary of the key conclusions of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The key point of the new guidelines is that several methods of screening all work pretty well for people ages 50-to-75, yet many Americans don’t get screened. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t do much to inform the reader beyond the task force’s news release (available for download here), only stating that “there are varying amounts of proof supporting the effectiveness of each, and each method has its advantages and limitations.” While it may be cumbersome to explain those benefits and risks in detail, it still would have been useful to go over some of the specifics, such as risks and costs, so that people get a basic idea of some of the complex trade-offs at hand. While cancer screening doesn’t always produce clear benefits, the USPSTF concludes colon cancer screening does offer substantial benefits for most people between the ages of 50 and 75. Given the high rates of colon cancer in the U.S., this is important news to convey to the public.