With colon cancer taking the lives of more than 52,000 Americans in 2023 alone, this insidious disease requires a preventive strategy. The strategy should include screening with a minimally invasive colonoscopy. Learn more here about when to have this important test and how it helps your GI specialist assess your colon health.
What Is a Colonoscopy?
A colonoscopy is an outpatient procedure used to view the interior of the colon and rectum. After a thorough laxative preparation the day prior to your procedure, you will be sedated and positioned on your side in the treatment room.
The GI doctor then carefully inserts a long, flexible tube, or endoscope, through the anus. He guides the scope through the entire length of the large intestine.
A miniaturized camera attached to the scope provides still and real-time video images for the GI specialist to view on a nearby monitor. Your doctor can look for abnormalities, such as polyps, bleeding, diverticulum or other signs of disease. Also, the doctor can take tissue samples or perform other procedures during the examination.
When Should You Have a Colonoscopy?
The American Cancer Society recommends that adults of average cancer risk should begin screening for colon cancer at age 45. However, your doctor also may suggest starting screenings earlier based on other risk factors, such as personal health history or ethnicity.
People with Crohn’s disease or those that have had radiation to the abdomen or pelvis may need more frequent screening. If you are experiencing symptoms such as rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits or unexplained weight loss, it’s important to discuss them with your doctor and consider getting a colonoscopy right away.
In general, colonoscopy screenings should continue for most people through the age of 75. Then, you and your GI doctor can discuss when and if you should continue getting tested. In general, people ages 85 and older need not get routine colonoscopies.
Why Should I Have a Screening Colonoscopy?
Frankly, many people who have colon cancer would never know they have a serious problem unless it were detected with a colonoscopy. For the most part, colon cancer is asymptomatic in its earliest stages.
People ask their doctors, “I feel fine. Why should I go through the laxative prep and spend a morning at the surgery center if I am not sick?”
Of course, this is a legitimate question.
The answer is simple: when detected early on through colonoscopies, colon cancer can be treated successfully. In fact, the five-year survival rate for colon cancer which is detected early on is over 90 percent. However, if you wait to be screened or avoid the test altogether, you run the risk of not discovering the cancer until it has spread and becomes more difficult to treat.
Also, the preparation for colonoscopies may seem inconvenient, but it is necessary for accurate results. The laxative prep clears out your colon so that any abnormalities can be seen clearly during the procedure.
It typically involves drinking a special liquid solution and following specific dietary instructions. While this prep takes some time, it is well worth the effort.
Colonoscopies detect small fleshy growths called polyps, or adenomas. Polyps largely are benign; however, some can develop into cancer over time.
So, while polyps are not cancerous, all colon cancer does develop from polyps. Prompt detection and removal by a colonoscopy doctor is critical to your long-term health.
Additionally, there are other benefits of having a colonoscopy. The test allows for early detection and treatment of any existing problems in your digestive system.
These GI issues can include inflammation, ulcers or infections. By catching these issues early on, you can avoid more serious complications.
Colonoscopy Doctors in Bradenton and Sarasota, FL
At Intercoastal Medical Group, we have a team of four board-certified gastroenterologists. They perform state of the art colonoscopy screenings at our surgery center in Sarasota, FL. Our GI doctors see patients at our Lakewood Ranch II location in Bradenton and at the Cattleridge office in Sarasota.
Contact us today at the location nearest you to learn more about colonoscopy screening. Also, you can request an appointment here. Remember, it could save your life.
