Colonoscopy Risks: Real, but Rare

Colonoscopy risks are real but rarely occur. What is colonoscopy? Colonoscopy is the procedure that allows a gastroenterologist - a specialist in your intestinal tract - to take a look at the inside of your colon, which is your large intestine.

There are some simple and important colon cancer facts. In fact, colon cancer survivability depends to a large extent on screening with colonoscopy.

Colon Cancer Facts

• Colon cancer can be prevented
• Pre-cancerous growth in the colon, called polyps, can be removed
• Cancers caught by colonoscopy, early, before you have symptoms, are much easier to treat

If the doctor finds polyps, colon polyp surgery can remove them, so they can't turn into cancer. Often this can be done during the colonoscopy, if the polyps are small.

So why not get regular colonoscopy?

So why not get regular colonoscopy?

People can be afraid of the procedure. The preparation, which means cleaning out your intestinal tract, is unpleasant.

But the colonoscopy itself is usually easy. Most of the time, patients are sedated with medicine so they are not uncomfortable.

You may not even remember all of the procedure. Colon polyp surgery can be done during the colonoscopy if it is needed.

Risks

Colonoscopy risks are similar to risks with any surgery. The two main problems are bleeding, for example if a sample of tissue, called a biopsy, is taken. The other risk is the possibility that a hole could be made in the colon.

Both of these risks are small, and can be managed. Including all the possible problems, the risk of death from colonoscopy is much less than one in a thousand. So you need to weigh the colonoscopy risks against the possible benefits. Doctors know that regular screening will save many, many more people than might be injured.

Benefits

If you are at high risk of getting colon cancer you stand to gain even more benefits from regular colonoscopy. You are at higher risk if you have had polyps, even if they were removed by colon polyp surgery. You have an even higher risk of colon cancer if certain kinds of polyps run in your family. In some cases you can be tested for certain genetic (hereditary) conditions to see how high your risk is. You also have a higher risk if you have an inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, You will need to be screened more frequently in these cases, but that is a small price to pay to avoid cancer.

Treatment of colon cancer has improved so much that colon cancer survivability is higher than you might imagine. The most important thing is catching it early. So get your colonoscopy, and encourage your friends and family to do the same.

Protect Yourself From the High Cost of Cancer

According to the recent studies, American men have a 44% chance of developing cancer while the chances for women are about 37%. The general risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 6%. For this reason, it's important for everyone, particularly people above the age of 50 years, to go for routine screening.

Whether discovered early or late, cancer is a debilitating disease due to the care, costs and the mental and physical trauma involved. Many times the cost of treatment leaves the patient in heavy financial distress.

Most insurance plans do not cover the total cost of the treatment, which leaves the patient and their family in a lurch. These days people have started purchasing supplemental cancer insurance that can help in covering otherwise uninsured expenses related to cancer illness. If you would like to learn more about supplemental cancer insurance you can click here.

Written by Anna Kaplan - 4/8/09

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