• Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the USA
• 130,200 Americans were diagnosed with colon cancer in 2000 (One in 20 Americans will develop the disease).
• 56,300 Americans Died from this disease in 2000.
• We are all predisposed to this disease because of our longer life spans, our high fat diets (low fiber intake) and our sedentary lifestyles.
• African-Americans have a higher incidence and death rate from colo-rectal cancer than Caucasians.
• Women speak freely about mammograms and breast cancer as well as cervical cancer screening by way of pap smears. Colon cancer, almost as common, remains an embarrassing topic to discuss. Embarrassment can be dangerous! Talk about it!
• Screening for colon cancer (looking for a disease before signs and symptoms are there) can be life-saving by removing pre-cancerous growths (or polyps).
• Early detection identifies cancers at a more curable stage before they have a chance to spread.

A test done by a digestive disease specialist which is the essential means for the diagnosis and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions.

Your doctor will insert a fiber-optic endoscope into you rectum and will be looking at the images generated through a T.V. monitor.

A single session diagnostic and therapeutic test is more convenient for patients and reduces costs associated with less work time lost.

Although it is normal to feel worried or anxious about this test, under most circumstances, the test is not very uncomfortable. The use of sedation for most colonoscopies leads to reduced pain and improved patient satisfaction.

The risks of colonoscopy include perforation and bleeding. The risk of perforation is in the order of one in several thousand colonoscopies.

Because intravenous sedation is used during most instances, colonoscopies are usually done in hospitals (out-patient department) or in free standing endoscopy centers.

All persons over age 50 and younger persons who have a family history of colorectal cancer.

• Polyps (Precancerous growths)
• Early stages of cancer
• Diverticular conditions
• Hemorrhoids

Yes, high-risk individuals are those with:

• A close relative (sibling, parent, child) with colon cancer
• A family history of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis
• A family history of HNPCC (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer)
• A personal history of colorectal cancer or adenomatous polyps
• Long standing Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn’s disease)
• If you have any of these risk factors, you should talk to your doctor about screening.

You will hear about fecal occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopies, colonoscopies and barium enemas. These are all different colorectal cancer screening devices.

Although a flexible sigmoidoscopy is quite easy to perform and cheaper than a colonoscopy, it is only examining the lower third of the colon. Because of this, it is not considered as thorough for the diagnosis or exclusion of polyps or cancers. It still remains a popular test when working up patients with disorders such as chronic diarrhea, constipation or lower abdominal pain.

A colonoscopy in the year 2001 is considered the most reliable test as it visualizes the entire colon and offers the capacity to remove many growths (polyps) or cancers during the examination.

After July 1, 2001, colonoscopy will be available to Medicare beneficiaries without need for pre-certification.

This test will be available every ten years for average risk patients and every two years for those in a “high risk category”.

A Colonoscopy is also the diagnostic tool most frequently used if patients have positive results on one of the other colorectal cancer screening tests mentioned above.