Recollection of previous colon cancer screening in Minnesota adults

Regularly scheduled screening of patients has been shown to be effective for decreasing morbidity and mortality from colorectal cancer. We used a questionnaire to assess patients' ability to accurately recall the date and type of their most recent colorectal cancer screening. The study included 200 consecutive patients whose records indicated they had undergone previous colorectal cancer screening (8 patients were later excluded because they had been screened more than 5 years earlier). Overall, 32.3% of patients could not recall the date of their last colorectal cancer screening, 34.3% recalled the date inaccurately, and 33.3% recalled the date accurately within 1 month. The results suggest that recall alone is not sufficient to determine the date and type of previous colorectal cancer screening, especially if the screening was performed more than a year earlier.