When women come in for a mammography, that might be an excellent chance to discuss—and schedule—a screening colonoscopy. In particular, this could help increase colorectal cancer screening among minority women, according to a study reported online by the journal Cancer.

For two years between 2003 and 2005, researchers offered colonoscopies to more than 2,600 women who came to the Breast Examination Center of Harlem—an outreach program serving a mostly black and Hispanic community. All the women were over age 50 with no history of either colorectal cancer or screening. Read the rest of this entry »

Image courtesy of SONY Pictures TV

Did Dr. Oz scare you today?

The chances of your colonoscopy resulting in the made-for-TV near-death experience that Dr. Mehmet Oz detailed in a six-part video series on his show and website are highly unlikely. See, Dr. Oz didn’t have a near-death experience, and his colonoscopy story is very common. So can we cut it out with the hysterics, Dr. Oz? You’re scaring people.

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No participants in a study of the German colonoscopy screening program who had a clear colonoscopy developed colorectal cancer almost twelve years after their exam.

Advanced adenomas were also reduced significantly. Read the rest of this entry »

Anchor Harry Smith will have a colonoscopy live on the CBS Early Show March 10.  He plans to tell viewers about the procedure while it is happening.

Evening News anchor and managing editor Katie Couric will be with Smith during the colonoscopy and as he prepares for it the night before.

Gastroenterologist Dr. Mark Pochapin will do the procedure at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Read the rest of this entry »

While colonoscopy is effective in preventing cancers and advanced polyps in the lower part of the colon and rectum, it is less successful in stopping them in the right side or upper colon.

Looking back at almost 3,300 colonoscopies performed in community gastroenterology practices in Germany, researchers found a substantial reduction in large polyps or cancers in the left side of the colon and rectum among patients who had had a colonoscopy in the past ten years compared to those who hadn’t had one.

However, in the upper part of the colon, risk for an advanced polyp or cancer was the same whether or not the patient had a previous colonoscopy.

Overall, colonoscopy reduced the risk of a cancer or an advanced adenoma by 50 percent.

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