Yes. I can attest to this. I had a cousin and a cousin-by-marriage who both died in their 70s from colon cancer. Not exactly prematurely (as I would certainly have thought a few decades ago) However, death is not the only outcome.
They were both diagnosed in their mid-late 60s. Not by screening colonoscopies, but by the symptoms of advanced disease…my actual cousin from severe anemia from frequent bleeds (he thought he had piles) and his BIL when his sudden onset severe constipation developed into being unable to even pHart! The sort of thing that you’d associate more with a century or so back rather than a couple of decades or so.
In spite of screening colonoscopies being recommended for their age groups and totally FREE thanks to the NHS, neither of them bothered … belonging as they did to the era/educational background/understanding etc that subscribed to the notion that you only go to the doctor if you have symptoms of “something”.
Like I said, not a totally premature death but their last decade plus of life (of sorts) involved managing their colostomies, chemotherapy etc…all stuff that would’ve been prevented by a more timely diagnosis