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Another caveat is that the study’s follow-up period was roughly 10 years, says Ashwani Rajput, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. And the benefits of screening

are more obvious over time, he adds. The study’s authors plan to repeat their analysis at 15 years, so the results could change. Finally, it should be noted that previous colonoscopy studies

 have shown a much greater risk reduction in both colorectal cancer incidence and death; so have studies evaluating other colorectal cancer screening methods. “It should not be interpreted

that colonoscopies aren't helpful. And most importantly, it should not be interpreted that there's not a benefit to colon cancer screening,” Meyerhardt says. BOTTOM LINE: GET

SCREENED AND STAY UP TO DATE ON SCREENINGS Despite headlines touting disappointing study results, experts say colonoscopies and colorectal cancer screenings, more generally, absolutely

saves lives and shouldn’t be skipped. “There's no question that colorectal cancer screening works,” says Carole Macaron, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic, who points out

that this latest study was really trying to assess the effectiveness of a colonoscopy as a public health intervention when it's being offered to a large group of people. If you are at

average risk for colon cancer — meaning you don’t have a family history of the disease or another condition that increases your chances of getting it, like Crohn's disease — routine

screenings should start at age 45 and continue to 75. Whether you should continue screenings from age 76 to 84 is a decision you should make with your doctor. Adults 85 and older don’t

need to be screened. A colonoscopy is just one type of colorectal cancer screening. During this procedure, the doctor looks at the entire length of the colon using a flexible tool that has a

camera attached at the end. One of the benefits to this screening is that if your doctor spots a polyp during the procedure (these are small clumps of cells that can be precancerous), they

can take it out on the spot. “If left inside 10, 15 years down the road [a polyp] could progress to cancer, so you want to remove them so that technically your risk of cancer from that polyp

turns into zero,” Macaron says. If you opt for the colonoscopy, you should have it done every 10 years. If the test uncovers polyps your doctor might ask you to repeat the test sooner.