We are all told that after age 50 we should have a screening colonoscopy. This reduces the risk of death from colon cancer by finding and removing polyps that can cause cancer later. But the difficult preparation for having a colonoscopy prevents many people from agreeing to have periodic colonoscopies, and many older patients have a dangerously high risk from repeated colonoscopy examinations.
A recent article examined what options a person has and what are the benefits of each http://bit.ly/UgUatC . The results show that following a negative colonoscopy, having annual check for blood in the stool is as effective in reducing risk of colon cancer compared to having repeated colonoscopy exams. This is important not only for reducing side effects of colonoscopy, but also it reduces costs of care and patient co-pays.
What should you do?
See Chapter 9 Preventing Illness in my new book Surviving American Medicine for more information that can help you.