At high risk? Get screened

I wanted to bring everyone's attention to the November 17th issue of McLeans which had a number of interesting articles about digestive health including a discussion on colonoscopies by the Canadian digestive health foundation which is well worth a read. It underlines a number of important points with regard to colon cancer and the importance of colonoscopies that I have discussed here before but I figured it might be worth talking about again.

The most important point that the article makes is that "people at high risk should be more afraid of not having a colonoscopy than of having one". People at high risk include everyone over 50 and anyone over 40 with a family history of CRC. One rough statistic provided by the CDHF suggests that only about 20% of eligible high risk candidates take advantage of the screening. That is particularly worrisome given the fact that in its early stages when it is most curable, CRC has no real symptoms. Regular screening using a colonoscopy can catch CRC at an early stage when it is 90+% curable.

So why doesn't everyone who can get screened? I think the answer to that question is two-fold. Firstly, no-one like to discuss those parts of their body with anyone, even their doctor. And secondly, it is human nature to do everything in our power to prevent a stranger from cramming 5 feet of fiber optic cable in our "out" door. My rebuttal to both points is simple: Get over yourself. If you are in the high risk category its much more scary not to talk about it and not get screened.

Although getting a colonoscopy is right up there with a root canal on the "Least fun thing to do ever" list, it's actually not that bad. In fact I would rather have a colonoscopy than a root canal. The worst part of the entire operation is the "clean out". This is where you don't eat for a day or so before the test and must consume 4 litres of fruity tasting salty water that acts as a flush to clean the pipes. Once you're in the procedure room the doctor explains what he's going to do and the nurses get you lined up lying on your left side. At that point they give you a short acting amnesia-inducing drug. This practice is called conscious sedation. It is a low risk way to minimize your discomfort during the procedure by making you more relaxed and causing you to not remember what has happened. It's pretty fun. The next thing you know you're lying in the recovery room. They say I was awake the whole time but I don't remember a thing.

My challenge to all of you for next week is this: We all know people in a high risk category. It could be your mother, brother, friend, daughter or spouse. Talk to them about the screening process and encourage them to discuss it with their doctor. A simple discussion could save a life.