March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the US among both men and women. However, we can prevent 90% of colon cancer cases through colonoscopies. Because 90% of colon cancer’s occur after age 50, the recommended screening age for the general population is 50. And if an exam is normal, you may not need another one for 10 years. However, we are only screening 25% of the population and that’s not good. 150,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year, and about 50,000 die from it each year.
However, many people are uncomfortable getting screened. These are some common excuses I hear from people trying to avoid an exam:
“I don’t have any problems or symptoms why should I have a colonoscopy?”
We don’t want to wait for symptoms. We want to prevent colon cancer. Because almost all Colon cancer develops from small growths called polyps, we want to find these polyps when they are small, remove them and prevent the cancer. If we wait for symptoms the polyp likey has developed into a cancer.
“I have no family history of colon cancer or any cancer.”
Most colon cancers occur in people with no family history.
“I don’t want to experience pain during the procedure.”
Because we use sedation, the colonoscopy is completely painless.
“The colon cleansing is terrible!”
There are many different ways to cleanse so we can tailor the cleanse to the patient.
“Colonoscopy is too risky.”
In expert hands, it is one of the safest and most commonly performed procedures. It is much safer than driving a car, and most of us drive daily without a second thought.
So no more excuses or delays everyone! Lets get it done.
