Something deadly may be lurking deep inside your bowels.

This is no joke: Colorectal cancer trails only lung cancer and prostate cancer when it comes to killing American men.

The good news is that this disease is frequently curable when discovered in its earliest stages. Thanks to an increase in screening, death rates dropped 12 percent during the past decade, according to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.

But when it comes to screening for colorectal cancer, the picture gets complicated.

There are five different screening methods approved by the National Institutes of Health. One method involves doing what you do every morning after your coffee and donut (and handing it to your doctor). The other four—we’re sorry to say—involve a medical professional inserting either a snake-like device, a liquid, or a finger where the sun don’t shine.

We know what you’re thinking: “Hand over that cup; I’ll give you all the test samples you need!” But stool examination is the least sensitive of the five tests.

There’s really only one type of screening test you should consider, according to Mark Welton, M.D., chief of colorectal surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“I recommend colonoscopy,” Welton says. The test can both detect abnormalities and remove those abnormalities for testing. “None of the other tests have that advantage,” he says, adding that the test is also incredibly sensitive.

Welton advises healthy men to have their first colonoscopy at age 50. But for those who have a family history of colorectal cancer, screening should begin sooner.

To help your body stave off colorectal cancer, Welton recommends exercise and foods high in fiber. Both will speed up waste’s trip through your intestinal slip-n-slide, limiting the amount of time your sensitive insides are exposed to toxins.