Routine colonoscopies not the only way to detect colon cancer

March 24, 2024

Don’t just BLINDLY obey ‘routine’ colonoscopy guidelines – Do THIS instead

They SAY the best way to CONQUER colon cancer is early detection…

And for the mainstream, the “gold standard” for that is getting a colonoscopy. 

In 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force even LOWERED the recommended age for getting colonoscopies by five years, to 45 years old…

REGARDLESS of family history or individual risk factors…

Even though the age group MOST FREQUENTLY diagnosed with colon cancer is 65 to 74.

The USPSTF did something else, too…

Instead of letting folks age 75 and over off the hook, they’re now encouraging docs to CONTINUE hassling older folks about colon screenings until they’re 85!

So, if you’re between 45 and 85 years old… they’ve got you in their sights. And, unfortunately, that means you’re in the crosshairs. 

Because while they’ll TELL you that colonoscopies SAVE LIVES…

What they WON’T share is how dangerous these procedures can be. 

I’m here today… during Colon Cancer Awareness Month… to share key warnings with you… 

And to offer some alternatives to help you AVOID some of the risks. 

Now, there’s no debate here – you definitely DON’T want colorectal cancer. It’s a dangerous, potentially life-threatening disease. 

And it’s true that it’s treatable… if you catch it early enough. 

But getting a colonoscopy is an incredibly EXPENSIVE and INVASIVE type of screening… one that’s not WITHOUT danger. 

It does involve anesthesia, after all… which always comes with some risks.

Here’s the kicker…

The colonoscopy may not even be NECESSARY! And according to a 2022 study, its benefits may have been “overestimated.”

See, the vast MAJORITY of the time, what docs find when they stick a tube and a camera up your backend are non-cancerous polyps – ones that may NEVER cause cancer in the future. 

So, they go ahead and remove them… just to be safe…

Which could put you at risk for excessive bleeding… or even for a perforation of the bowel, a potentially DEADLY complication. 

All the while, you’re potentially getting exposed to CONTAMINATED or just plain DIRTY instruments!

According to Yale research, 2 out of every 125 colonoscopy patients who had low risk and were otherwise healthy ended up in the hospital or ER with a serious complication within a week of their procedure. 

But you NEVER hear about that “surprisingly high rate” when your GI doc is trying to schedule you to go in for one. 

Now, colonoscopies are also pretty unpleasant… especially the “prep” phase when you’ve got to switch to a LIQUID diet and consume laxatives to make you EVACUATE your bowels. 

But these procedures aren’t the ONLY way to get ahead of colon cancer. 

I’m sure you’ve heard about the tests you can take in the privacy and safety of your own home. 

For Cologuard, you collect a stool sample and mail it off to a lab. You’ll need a doc to write you an Rx for this one… which is a combo fecal occult blood test (FOBT)/stool DNA test to detect traces of blood (a sign of polyps) or abnormal DNA (a red flag for cancer). 

But it’s worth the extra effort… as it’s been shown to be more sensitive than the OTC alternative, called the Fecal Immunochemical Test (or FIT for short). 

Either way, you run the risk of false positives AND false negatives. And if you get a positive test result, your doc will likely send you in for a follow-up colonoscopy… essentially just DELAYING the inevitable. 

Fortunately, there are some other ways to allow your doc to SEE inside your colon, including…

  • a “virtual” colonoscopy (a.k.a. CT colonography), a non-invasive, outpatient procedure in which you empty your bowels and then get a CT scan of your empty colon
  • capsule endoscopy, in which you swallow a “camera pill” that takes pictures inside your gut until you poop it out
  • flexible sigmoidoscopy, an invasive procedure that requires no anesthesia and only takes about 20 minutes.

Talk to your doc about these alternatives… and if he’s not open to the discussion, find another doc.

In pursuit of the truth,

Dr. Marc S. Micozzi, M.D., Ph.D.

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