Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women and men combined.

Despite being one of the most preventable cancers, colorectal cancer claims 50,000 deaths and 135,000 newly diagnosed cases annually.

If detected early enough, it can be treated or cured.

Sonora Quest Laboratories now provides a new colorectal cancer screening blood test, an alternative to a colonoscopy, available directly to consumers without a physician’s order.

The self-ordered lab test product is available online and at all of Sonora Quest’s 70-plus patient service centers in Arizona. The local office is at 13620 N. Saguaro Blvd., suite 150.

The blood test is available for $170. Medicare does not cover the cost. Other insurance plans vary.

Sonora Quest teamed up with Beacon Biomedical Inc., a Phoenix-based diagnostic laboratory focused on commercializing early detection cancer tests. The manufacturer claims the test is 94 percent accurate at detecting the likely presence or absence of colorectal cancer, even at its earliest stage.

As a blood test, it has the potential to remove many of the barriers to screening due to the test’s simplicity and easy of adoption, and can be collected at the same time as other blood tests with no special preparation needed.