RALEIGH, N.C. — According to the World Health Organization, colorectal cancer is the third-most common cancer worldwide.

Dr. Neeraj Sachdeva with RMG Gastroenterology in Raleigh encourages patients to get screenings early, especially during March, which is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

“Some of the symptoms are rectal bleeding, change in bowel habits, abdominal pain, blood in the stool. What we want to stress is people get screened before they get symptoms because typically if you get symptoms, a lot of times it’s too late," Sachdeva said.

The age of routine screenings has been lowered to 45.

“What we’ve learned in the last 20 years is that mortality ... from colon cancer is going down for people 50 and above because more people are getting a colonoscopy," he said.

Sachdeva says doctors are finding more forms of advanced cancer in patients 40-50 years old.

“We don’t know why. We think it is diet-related," he said. "We typically recommend people get screened sooner than 45 if you have a family history."

RMG Gastroenterology in Raleigh is the first group in the Triangle to pilot an AI program, Medtronic’s GI Genius, that doctors say reduces a patients' chances of colon cancer returning.

“We are actually the first group in the Triangle to pilot an AI program," he said. "This has been wonderful. When we are doing a colonoscopy, it’s like having a big brother watch over you. The machine will kind of put an arrow here, circle here and it’s a software that’s linked to our colonoscopy equipment software."

Sachdeva says 60%-65% of people in North Carolina who need a colonoscopy get one. Doctors say that’s disheartening since an estimated 40-100 deaths from late-stage colorectal cancer are preventable if older adults are routinely screened.