At-Home Cancer Tests for Prostate, Colorectal, and Cervical Cancer

Colon Cancer Screenings

Like other at-home screenings, colon cancer self-tests are used for people with average risk of colon cancer. This means that if you have a family history of colon cancer or symptoms like blood in the stool or abdominal pain, you’ll need to see your doctor for a colonoscopy instead. Colon cancer screening is routinely started at age 45.

“Clearly the benefit is not going through a colonoscopy,” says Xavier Llor, MD, PhD, a gastroenterologist at Yale Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, “meaning not having to prep for one day and then losing the entire day the next day.”

Guaiac-Based Fecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT)

The guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) checks for occult, or hidden, blood in your stool, which can be a sign of cancer or polyps, a type of abnormal tissue growth that can be precancerous. If you get a positive result, you’ll need to get a colonoscopy to learn more about the cause of the bleeding.

Your doctor may ask you to avoid certain foods or medications, such as red meat or foods and vitamins with high vitamin C, ahead of the screening. To take the test, you’ll collect samples from three bowel movements in a row, which you’ll smear onto a card provided in the test kit and mail in to the lab. The test doesn’t require a prescription, meaning you can purchase it over the counter, and should be repeated every year.

Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT)

The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) also tests for occult blood but is simpler than the gFOBT. With the FIT, you won’t have to avoid any food ahead of time. You’ll also only need to collect a sample from one bowel movement, which you’ll mail to the lab in a container provided by the test kit. Like the gFOBT, this test must be repeated annually, and follow up with your doctor if you have abnormal results.

Multitarget Stool DNA Test (mt-sDNA)

To take the test, you’ll collect a sample from one bowel movement and mix it with a solution included in the test kit before you mail it in. The kit comes with a tool that attaches the container to your toilet for ease of collection. The test should be repeated every three years.