Colonoscopy....ugggg! Why do we need one? Well, it is fairly simple. First of all, what is a colonoscopy? It is the examination of the inside of the colon with a flexible scope. What is it for? It is to discover any abnormalities in the mucosa or lining of the colon that may be harmful, the biggest being colon cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute....
Definition of colon cancer: Cancer that forms in the tissues of the colon (the longest part of the large intestine). Most colon cancers are adenocarcinomas (cancers that begin in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids). Estimated new cases and deaths from colon and rectal cancer in the United States in 2012:
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New cases: 103,170 (colon); 40,290 (rectal) |
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Deaths: 51,690 (colon and rectal combined) |
These are pretty big numbers. Kind of scary! What can we do about it? Well, lets talk about colon cancer a bit. It develops from the lining of the colon. It can have genetic causes but also most frequently occurs without aa direct genetic component. It is usually from the glandular structures in the colon, thus called an adenocarcinoma. The most common age of occurrence is in the mid sixties. It develops from polyps in the colon, if left unchecked grow and can become malignant.
This picture represents a small polyp that is non malignant.
If left unchecked the small polyp above can become the large cancer that you see here.
This picture illustrates the presumed progression of polyps from a small benign problem to a cancer. Of course polyps are not the only thing we look for. Inflammatory bowel disease and other problems are also detected with this test.
Now that you are hopefully convinced that colon cancer can be prevented by screening and therapeutic colonoscopy..why doesn't everyone have it done? Mostly fear is my perception.
This is not a part of our bodies that we like to show people for one thing and most people think it will be a painful affair. Let me tell you, it is not. The worst part of the whole ordeal is getting ready for it and the prep regimens we use today are good and getting better all of the time. Most people use sedation during the test so you basically feel nothing.
So if you are having colon symptoms of any type or are 50 or older, go get your scope done. It is not that big a deal and it will give you peace of mind.
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