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New Technology Detects Colorectal Cancer Sooner

I was doing my regular scan of the news, trying to see if there was any updated info regarding colon health, and I came across a fantastic article on ABC News.

Colon cancer kills approximately 50,000 people annually, and early detection is key to beating out the cancer. However, there's good news: a new tool has been introduced that make colonoscopies more accurate.

The Third Eye Retroscope gives doctors a better view of the colon, helping them to find polyps that would otherwise be extremely difficult to detect. According to the article, traditional colonoscopies can miss between 12 and 24% of colon polyps. This new technology increases colonoscopy effectiveness by 25%.

That ain't bad.

(Picture Credit: Canada.com)

Prepping Your Bowels for a Colonoscopy

I’ve written a couple of posts that address the ins and outs of colonoscopies, but I haven’t yet talked about the preparation that’s involved.

Your doctor may talk to you about certain medications that you should avoid five to seven days before the procedure.  These meds include blood-thinning medication as well as iron supplements (including multivitamins that contain iron).  When I had my colonoscopy, I was not instructed to watch the medication I took, so simply follow your doctor’s instructions as far as this is concerned.

Two or one day(s) prior to the colonoscopy, you’ll be instructed to take laxative tablets or a liquid laxative.  Trust me:  taking the laxative is the easy part.  The frustrations come afterwards.

24 hours prior to your colonoscopy, you will only be allowed to drink liquids.  I recommend investing in a good deal of sports drinks that contain electrolytes so that you don’t get dehydrated. 

Hang out on the couch or in bed—wherever a toilet is nearby, because you will be using it!  Starting out, you’ll have solid stools, and as the hours go on, they’ll get thinner and thinner.  When I was prepping for my colonoscopy, the only way I could describe it was that I was “peeing out of my bum.”

Yes.  It’s gross.

A couple of hours before the procedure, you’ll need to stop ingesting liquid.  And then get ready to be knocked out!

What kinds of experiences have you had with colonoscopies?

The Discomfort of Colonoscopies, Part 2

I read an article today that talked about the newest breakthrough in colonoscopy technology—the virtual colonoscopy.  Sounds very 21^st century, doesn’t it?

 

According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, this new virtual colonoscopy is still very effective, yielding the same accuracy as a regular colonoscopy.  And even better, this new procedure can even spot abnormalities that are outside of the colon—traditional colonoscopies can’t do that.

 

Now for the bad news:  you still have to flush out your colon first.  So if you’re going to take part in a virtual colonoscopy, prepare yourself to consume a ridiculous amount of laxatives and then spend the entire day in the crapper.  This is so that the wall of the large intestine is exposed for accurate inspection.

 

Dr. Robert Fletcher of Harvard reports that approximately 1 in 6 virtual colonoscopies will find something which then requires the patient to undergo a regular, traditional colonoscopy.  So, you’d have double the fun!

 

Doesn’t sound like a fair trade-off, does it?

The Discomfort of Colonoscopies, Part 1

About seven years ago, I was having some serious stomach issues.  Chron’s Disease (a disease that affects the digestive system, affecting absolutely any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus) runs in my family, so my doctor recommended that I get a colonoscopy done just in case I also had the illness.  Sounds like loads of fun, right?  Sense the dripping sarcasm…

 

A colonoscopy is a procedure that allows doctors to exam the large colon and part of the small bowel with a fiber optic camera that is on a tube.  How does the camera get into the colon, you ask?  Through the anus.  Lovely.

 

So to prepare for this absolutely wonderful procedure, I was instructed to consume a large amount of laxatives and told not to eat for an entire 24 hours.  All I could do was drink Gatorade and poop.  I spent so much time in the bathroom that the toilet seat was constantly warm.  It was not one of my best days.

 

The morning of the colonoscopy, I was sleepy, hungry and irritable.  I don’t care what you say—spending an entire day in the bathroom while unable to eat would put anyone in a bad mood.

 

I was put to sleep for the colonoscopy, thankfully.  It was still uncomfortable knowing that once I passed out, the doctors were going to spread apart my bum cheeks and stick a camera up into my colon and small bowel.  But I needed to know if I had Chron’s. 

 

I woke up after the procedure loopy as a lush and ready for a Big Mac from McDonald’s (not my proudest nutritional moment). 

 

Turns out that I was free and clear of Chron’s.  Phew.

 

Have any of you had the pleasure of a colonoscopy?

The Dreaded Colonoscopy Isn’t as Precise as it Seems

After skimming through some health articles today, I was smacked in the face by one about colonoscopies. 

 This article informed me that while colonoscopies are fantastic at spotting indications of disease on the left side of the colon, it’s not nearly as effective at spotting possible indications of disease on the colon’s right side.  So, what?  This uncomfortable procedure is only 50% effective? 

 This doesn’t do much to ease my troubles. Here’s what the article had to say:

 “[The study] found that colonoscopies were tied to lower death rates for cancers located on the left side of the colon, but a similar effect wasn't seen with right-sided cancers. The findings were consistent regardless of gender or age.”

For those of you who have had colonoscopies, how does this news affect you?  Are you irritated, or not so surprised?