Colonoscopy Screening Could Save Your Life

Over the past 15 years the number of deaths due to colorectal cancer has been dropping.

A major factor in the decrease has almost certainly been the increased use of colonoscopy as a screening tool for early detection of colo-rectal cancer.

Studies have shown an 80% increased use of colonoscopy among Americans during the years 1997-2002.

The decrease in the rate of colo-rectal cancer and the increase in colonoscopy rates is not a coincidence. During a screening colonoscopy, doctors can remove lesions in the colon called polyps. Although these polyps are usually not cancerous at the time of removal, there is a chance that, if left in the body, they could become cancerous.

Thus, removing polyps during a colonoscopy screening can actually result in the reduction of cancer incidence.

For most people screening for colo-rectal cancer is recommended to begin at age 50. However, there may be other factors which could lead to your doctor recommending a screening at an earlier age.

In addition to colonoscopy, there are other ways to screen for colo-rectal cancer.

In fact, the American Cancer Society recommends that one of five different methods be used to screen for colo-rectal cancer:

1) A yearly fecal (stool) occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test.*
2) A flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.
3) A yearly fecal (stool) occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.**
4) A double contrast barium enema every five years.
5) A colonoscopy every 10 years.

* If using the fecal occult blood test, the recommendation is that the take-home multiple sample method should be used.

** The combination of either the fecal occult blood test or fecal immunochemical test plus a flexible sigmoidoscopy is preferred to the use of the tests individually.

If any of the non-colonoscopy tests are positive, then a full colonoscopy should be performed.

Of course, in the future, it may not be necessary for patients to have to undergo a conventional colonoscopy to screen for colo-rectal cancer. A technique called virtual colonoscopy is being developed.

In a virtual colonoscopy, air is pumped into the colon, and from outside the body, high resolution, CT slices are taken. The resulting images are examined for polyps and tumors.

As the technique develops it may be become much more popular as a screening test as it more comfortable for most patients and doesn’t require intravenous sedation.

So, remember that screening for colo-rectal cancer, either with a conventional colonoscopy or one of these other methods can save your life.

Dr. Glenn Sheiner is a medical doctor with diplomas in Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine, and Family Medicine.

Dr. Sheiner is the author of the medical multimedia digital product called Cancer Research Online Made Easy which you can read for FREE online at researchyourcancer.com/bookcover_page1.html CANCER RESEARCH ONLINE MADE EASY

Dr. Sheiner created this product to help patients research cutting-edge medical information in hours not days. The FREE Ebook contains 5 videos illustrating exactly what to do. To learn more go to researchyourcancer.com www.researchyourcancer.com

Tags: colorectal cancer

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Tags: colorectal cancer