Inside the Effort to Test Millions of Stool Samples for Cancer
Colon cancer screening should begin at age 45, new guidelines say. During a pandemic, this at-home poop test has emerged as a key solution.
As the number of Covid-19 cases began to explode in the U.S. in March and April, Americans retreated to their homes and put routine medical care on the backburner. Not getting Covid-19 — and protecting health care workers against the disease — became the collective goal. Traditional doctor visits plunged, elective procedures were canceled, and any other care deemed nonessential — including cancer screenings — essentially came to a halt. Specifically, the number of colonoscopies, the bedrock of colon cancer screening, fell nationally by 90%.
The disruption at Exact Sciences was almost immediate. The company is the maker of a colonoscopy alternative called the Cologuard test, which screens poop samples for cancer DNA. Exact saw the number of its poop-filled kits arriving for analysis at its Madison, Wisconsin, headquarters plummet by 80%. Like many businesses around the country, Exact froze its spending, imposed pay cuts, and furloughed some employees. The pandemic “has been a real step back in our efforts to prevent cancer and detect it early with colon cancer screening,” says Kevin…
