I’m 35 and I know that the recommended age to have your first colonoscopy is 50 however, my mother died of colon cancer at age 67 after two years of treatment. Is it too early to have one?

Sonali S. Sakaria, MD

Academic Title: Assistant Professor

Board Certifications:
Internal Medicine

The gastrointestinal societies recommend that in patients with a 1st degree relative diagnosed with colon cancer younger than sixty years of age, screening for colon cancer should start at age forty.