Colon cancer screenings drop during COVID-19 pandemic, despite awareness after Chadwick Boseman's death

CHICAGO (WLS) -- March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month.

The death of actor Chadwick Boseman from colon cancer has raised awareness of the disease. He was only 43 years old.

But at the same time, screenings for colon cancer have plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Dr. Jacqueline Harrison is a colorectal surgeon with Cook County Health. She joined ABC 7 Chicago Wednesday to talk about colon cancer preventative care.

Harrison said average-risk patients should be screened at age 45. Then, if your results are normal, you won't need to be screened again for 10 years.

Other screening tests are also available for average-risk patients, she said. Those must be done more often.