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Curious as to what age you decided/aged out to stop--or were advised to stop?
Well, I'm basically following the guidelines of the US Preventative Services Taskforce.
I'm 72, and was informed by my PCP that this is the cutoff age for PAP smear screening IF one has never had any issues, ie, no abnormal PAP smear results, no history of uterine or related cancers. I'd still have the screening done if I were having issues, but I have always had results that were completely normal.
The USPSTF states screening for colon cancer (including colonoscopy) for adults aged 50 to 74. The guidelines state colonoscopies (or other screening) for those 75 and up be considered on a case by case basis, considering the patient's health history and previous screening test results.
I had a colonoscopy last year after a screening occult blood showed positive results. The colonoscopy results were normal, not even a small polyp, and the surgeon who did the colonoscopy told me to come back in 10 years to repeat it. Well, 10 years from the last colonoscopy done in 2018 when I was almost 71, by my figuring I'd be 81 or so. So unless there is a specific reason for a (diagnostic) colonoscopy sometime in my future, I figure the colonoscopy done last year was my last.
Though the surgeon who did the colonoscopy persuaded me to have an upper endoscopy as well, to look for the source of bleeding in the event nothing turned up on the colonoscopy. Guess it was a good thing, I had several bleeding gastric ulcers that I had no idea I had.
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Sorry to confuse things, but this is only one set of guidelines by one group - there are obviously differing opinions even among physicians.
But in general and for most tests, the negatives of possible false positives outweigh the benefits at a certain age. You can continue to get them but they may or may not be covered by insurance. It's also possible that the time gained by early detection may not be much once you reach a certain age or that the disease likely won't kill you before you die of some other reason...so lots of things to consider.
Has anyone here decided to stop screening tests if symptom-free? Especially posters "of a certain age"?
I'm not worried if I croak from colon cancer or other medical issues. I am single, have no one depending on me and don't really GAD
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