There’s an effort by M Health Fairview and the University of Minnesota to increase access to colorectal cancer screening. It is recommended that people start having colonoscopies at 45 years old.

“We know that screening for colon cancer saves lives and saves money,” said Dr. James Hougas, a family medicine physician with M Health Fairview and the U of M Medical School.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, colorectal cancer rates almost doubled among Minnesotans 20 to 49 years old between 1988 and 2022. Colorectal cancer rates are 12% higher in Greater Minnesota than in the Twin Cities metro area.

A recent study published in the journal Gastroenterology showed 69% of counties nationwide do not have a gastroenterologist, which is the specialist that typically performs a colonoscopy.

Dr. Hougas has been teaching family medicine residents how to do the procedure at St. John’s Hospital since 2017. It’s the state’s only colonoscopy training program for family medicine residents.

“Eighty percent of the counties in Minnesota have a family medicine resident who’s graduated from the department here at the University of Minnesota,” said Dr. Hougas. “And we know that the availability of good colon cancer screening to include colonoscopy that availability is limited the further away you go from our major metropolitan areas. When our residents are going to rural Minnesota, rural Wisconsin, they are bringing that capability, bringing that service, bringing that lifesaving screening to those parts of the country where people might not otherwise get it.”

He explained he’s one of only about 2% of family doctors and 6% of academic family physicians performing colonoscopies nationwide.

The U of M Medical School is opening a rural track program in Willmar this summer, which he said will also train family physicians in this procedure. 

“It’s going to make it way more accessible,” said Michael Stoltzman, a patient from Woodbury.

He’s seen Dr. Hougas for years, along with his father and brother.

“Because of some things my dad and grandfather had, he said we need to be proactive, preventative on this,” said Stoltzman, who had his first colonoscopy when he was 50 years old.

It was performed by Dr. Hougas.

“It was a little intimidating, but he explained it very clearly and made sense of it all,” said Stoltzman. “It’s great to have him because he knows so much about my history.”

Dr. Hougas removed pre-cancerous polyps during the procedure, which were benign.

“If I were to wait maybe five years later potentially those could’ve grown into a cancerous polyp,” said Stoltzman. “If your doctor encourages you, knowing everything in your health history, and telling you it’s time to do it, you’re much more likely to schedule it and get it done than put it off and put it off.”