Tests for heart disease and colorectal cancer

2. Corus CAD

What it does: Evaluates your risk for narrowing or blockage in your coronary arteries.

Why it's important: "To my knowledge, this is the only test that can tell you what's going on in your arteries at the cellular and molecular level," says physician Alan Grossman, medical director of the Nuclear Cardiology and Echocardiography Laboratories at the Heart and Vascular Center of Arizona, which this year introduced the Corus CAD test. "Using this test, we've found people with severe multivessel coronary artery disease whom we would not have considered at high risk otherwise."

How it works: A small sample of your blood is sent to the laboratory of the test's maker, where it's screened for the presence of 23 genes that have been found to be associated with narrowing or blocked arteries.

Cost: $1,195

Covered by insurance? Some insurance companies cover this test, but many don't yet. However, the company that makes the test is committed to helping people get coverage, and it provides a patient advocate to help you through the process. And with Time magazine having picked Corus CAD as one of the top-ten medical breakthroughs of 2010, wider adoption and coverage are sure to come quickly.

Who should get it: The most definitive risk factor for a coronary artery blockage is chest pain, particularly chest pain or discomfort that comes on or increases when you exercise. Other risk factors: a family history of heart disease or heart attack.

The company that makes the test, CardioDX, currently offers the test in nine states: Kentucky, Maryland, Illinois, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. If you don't live in one of these states, you may have to travel to get the test, or wait a few months. Additional availability is expected in 2011.

3. Virtual colonoscopy

What it does: Uses a computed tomography (CT) scan to image the colon.

Why it's important: Colorectal cancer, which is cancer of the lower part of the intestines, is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., yet it's curable in 90 percent of all cases if caught early. Unfortunately, this still isn't happening as often as it should; currently almost 40 percent of cases are already stage III or IV when discovered.

Virtual colonoscopies are not only much more comfortable than traditional colonoscopies but eliminate the risk of anesthesia and prevent puncture of the colon. According to Judy Yee, professor and vice chair of radiology at U.C. San Francisco, only 30 percent of people who should be getting colonoscopies actually get them, and increased use of virtual colonoscopy could up that percentage and save lives.

How it works: A computed tomography scanner uses sophisticated software to generate a 3D image of your colon, looking for polyps and cancerous tumors. It takes just 10 to 15 minutes, and the dose of radiation is quite low -- about the equivalent of having conventional X-rays taken of the pelvis and abdomen. Because virtual colonoscopy scans the entire abdomen and pelvis, recent studies have shown that it also increases the detection rate for other pelvic diseases affecting the ovaries in women and the prostate in men.

Cost: $500-$1,000

Covered by insurance? Virtual colonoscopy is gaining popularity at major medical centers, but many insurers still consider it experimental and don't cover it. Medicare doesn't yet cover virtual colonoscopy but does cover traditional colonoscopy.

Many experts expect this to change, however, now that the American Cancer Society and many other organizations recommend virtual colonoscopy. And some states, including Kentucky, Maryland, and Virginia, now require private insurers to cover the procedure. (That's also the case in Washington, D.C., where President Obama got his virtual colonoscopy.)

Who should get it: Like colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy is recommended for anyone over age 50. However, if you have a first-degree family member who's had colon cancer before the age of 50, it's recommended that you begin screening when you're ten years younger than the age at which your family member was diagnosed. If a family member was diagnosed at age 45, for example, you should have your first screening at age 35. Indicators such as blood in the stool are also a reason to have a virtual colonoscopy.