Pennsylvania lawmakers propose bill to lower age for Colorectal Cancer screening [Video]

(WHTM)– March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and state lawmakers want to help more people get screened.

They plan to introduce a bill lowering the age for insurance to cover screenings from 50 to 45 years old.

The bill’s supporters include State Rep. Pat Gallagher, who was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 45, and State Rep Tarik Khan, who is a family nurse practitioner who refers patients each week for screenings, including colonoscopies.

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“If an x-ray finds a mass on your lung, they can’t do anything,” Khan said. “But if a colonoscopy finds a polyp, they can take out the polyp and do a biopsy, it’s really a critical test.”

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“At 45 I was 5 years before I was even supposed to get checked and that is alarming and especially how far along I became,” …