KUSA – There's a simple test that you can do at home to prevent one of the most common cancers in the country.

The Cologuard is the first and only FDA-approved noninvasive stool DNA screening test for colorectal cancer.

After it is prescribed to a patient, it is mailed to their home. The patient collects a sample in the provided container, and sends it back to a lab for analysis.

The patient's doctor gets the results in as little as two weeks.

The test costs $599 out of pocket, but is covered by Medicare.

American Cancer Society screening guidelines call for men and women at risk for the disease to get a screen when they turn 50. Nevertheless, 23 million Americans over that age do not get screened for colorectal cancer.

The five-year survival rate for colon cancer caught early is 12 percent, as compared to more than 90 percent for those who catch it early.

9NEWS reporter Taylor Temby spoke with Dr. Christopher Lieu, the director of Colorectal Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Hospital, about the procedure.

Watch the video above for her interview.

To learn more, visit http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20141125006043/en/Exact-Sciences-Announces-Final-Payment-Decision-Cologuard%C2%AE#.VISs1zHF98H