Starting Monday, millions of people who have avoided colon cancer screening can get a new home test that's noninvasive and doesn't require the icky preparation most other methods do.

The test is the first to look for cancer-related DNA in a stool sample. But deciding whether to get the test is a complex choice. The test could greatly boost screening for a deadly disease, but it also could lure people away from colonoscopies and other tests that, unlike the new one, have been shown to save lives.

The test, called Cologuard, was developed at the Mayo Clinic and is sold by Exact Sciences Corp. of Madison, Wisconsin.

Medicare covers it but private insurers are not covering it yet.

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