For IG 45+ year olds

johno · Post by **johno** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:18 pm

Study Says Colon Test Saves Lives

By RON WINSLOW

A major new study found that colonoscopies save lives, providing a long-missing piece of evidence to support one of medicine's least popular preventive tests.

In the study, which involved 2,602 patients, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, found that undergoing a colonoscopy in which tiny growths in the intestine called polyps were removed resulted in a 53% reduction in risk of death from colon cancer.

Cancer-prevention guidelines long have called for people to have a colonoscopy at age 50. In the test, a camera is threaded into the intestine at the end of a tube to check for suspicious polyps. If the first test is normal and there isn't family history of colon cancer, additional tests are recommended every 10 years. Other screening tests for colon cancer include stool tests and a sigmoidoscopy, which is similar to a colonoscopy but doesn't examine as much of the intestine.

Previous research has shown that removing suspicious polyps, especially those known as adenomas, prevents cancer, but whether that results in a reduction in death hasn't previously been demonstrated in a rigorous study. The new study "confirms what we've suspected and what we've done in practice," said Eric Esrailian, vice chief of digestive diseases at University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center. "It reinforces the importance of colorectal cancer screening."

In the study, researchers tracked patients who underwent a colonoscopy between 1980 and 1990 and had polyps removed. After a median follow-up of nearly 16 years, 1,246 patients had died from any cause, including 12 who had died from colon cancer. Other studies indicated that 25.4 colon-cancer deaths would have been expected among 2,602 people in the general population, leading to the conclusion of a 53% reduction in mortality.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... olonoscopy

Colonoscopies aren't that bad. Personally, the Doc found some adenomas to snip out, so a colonoscopy may have saved my life. And prevented/delayed a painful death.
Colon cancer sucks. Don't risk it.

Grandpa's Spells · Post by **Grandpa's Spells** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:24 pm

My dad's chemo/rad/surgery was successful but he's going through a shitty recovery. A friend of his died of it @62. This is a really dumb thing to not get screened for if you're over 40.

Holeyfraggaroley · Post by **Holeyfraggaroley** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:27 pm

I will say it again....get your ass checked. My brother died from colon cancer. They removed a polyp when I got checked. I'm 42. I'll be back in 5 years.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:34 pm

Holeyfraggaroley wrote:They removed a polyp, a D cell battery, and a gerbil skeleton when I got checked. I'm 42. I'll be back in 5 years.

5 years is too long.

johno · Post by **johno** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:55 pm

johno wrote: Colon cancer sucks. Don't risk it.

To expand: I've seen several situations where the pain was so great that no pain reliever worked. This included a morphine pump. (This is one of the saddest calls I've been on - a beautiful 20 year old Samoan girl dying of colon cancer. In agony.)

Holeyfraggaroley · Post by **Holeyfraggaroley** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:11 pm

nafod wrote:
Holeyfraggaroley wrote:They removed a polyp, a D cell battery, and a gerbil skeleton when I got checked. I'm 42. I'll be back in 5 years.
5 years is too long.

Maybe they can find the flashlight I gave the gerbil. He must have dropped it when I gave him the battery.

Holland Oates · Post by **Holland Oates** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:27 pm

A good friend of mine had to fight tooth and nail to get an early screening and he is either 40 or damned close. His dad had a shitload of tumors in his colon and survived colon cancer only to succumb a few years later to brain cancer. His dad's doctor recommended he go ahead and get screened, his doc said no, so after a pissing contest he got screened and they had to cut out some growths.

The Ginger Beard Man · Wed Feb 29, 2012 10:29 pm

My dad, 67, just had a single cancerous polyp removed. There weren't any others. He has had 2 other cancers in the last 5 years, so him and the docs are on top that shit.

Grandpa's Spells · Post by **Grandpa's Spells** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:00 am

Bump. Have a medical professional put stuff in your butt.

Sangoma · Post by **Sangoma** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:41 am

In the study, researchers tracked patients who underwent a colonoscopy between 1980 and 1990 and had polyps removed. After a median follow-up of nearly 16 years, 1,246 patients had died from any cause, including 12 who had died from colon cancer. Other studies indicated that 25.4 colon-cancer deaths would have been expected among 2,602 people in the general population, leading to the conclusion of a 53% reduction in mortality.

The fear of death and innumeracy in the general population is the reason I will never be without a job. 25.4 colon-cancer death in 2,602 people translates to 0.97% mortality. Accordingly, 12 death in the control group in the same number of people is 0.46%, half of that. The absolute reduction in mortality is therefore 0.5, not 53%. The fact that this is achieved over 16 years makes the result underwhelming, precisely why reporting of relative values is used here.

My point: colonoscopy does help to detect colon cancer, but its effect on mortality from cancer is somewhat more complicated. There is still a risk of complications with colonoscopies, such as perforation and bleeding, both of which have their own mortality, as well as the risk of false positive diagnosis. I don't want to sound dismissive or simply argumentative and for those interested in more detail this review of colon cancer screening methods: Controversies in Colorectal Cancer Screening

Mickey O'neil · Post by **Mickey O'neil** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:48 am

A couple of years ago I went in for a physical and the doc told me that since I was in good shape she didn't see the need to stick her finger up my ass. I really wanted her to be she said it wasn't necessary. Looks like I need to make another appointment for a colonoscopy.

buckethead · Post by **buckethead** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 2:08 am

Once a month for me

Bobby · Post by **Bobby** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:39 am

buckethead wrote:Once a month for me

FOR PLEASURE?

Cayenne · Post by **Cayenne** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:02 am

When I have my annual physical exam, usually every 2-3 years, my PCP, after a perfunctory, "how's the family? How's work? etc.," while he's asking me to take deep breaths and placing his stethoscope around my torso, gets to a point where he slips on a rubber glove and says something like, "...I know no one likes this part, but if it's OK, can you roll on to your side...?" As I begin to comply, he then adds something along the lines of the following which I always find creepy..."Don't worry, I'll send you flowers" or "Don't worry, I'll take you out to dinner afterwards." I'm thinking, "Really? Is that stupid humor helpful?" Now, the fact that I'm at IGX demonstrates I'm all for a good laugh, but somehow that is just weird. I mean, do the stupid 5 second "feel around" pull your finger out and call it a day. I don't need the "don't worry, I promise I'll call you a cab after and not just push you out of the car," speech. I think a more clinical, "You will feel some pressure but it will only last several seconds," is a much better approach.

Bobby · Post by **Bobby** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 11:28 am

Or:just the tip,honest?

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:39 pm

Mickey O'neil wrote:A couple of years ago I went in for a physical and the doc told me that since I was in good shape she didn't see the need to stick her finger up my ass. I really wanted her to be she said it wasn't necessary. Looks like I need to make another appointment for a colonoscopy.

The finger in the ass is to check your prostate, not your colon. She would need really long fingers for that. Or a strap on.

Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer at 50 which was a coincidental finding during screening process for knee surgery. Blood work showed he was anemic which led to the colonoscopy. Ended up having a large part of his colon removed and chemo but is fine now without a bag.

Had my first colonoscopy at 35. One non-cancerous polyp removed. Prep was worse than the test.

I didn't go at 40, but will again at 45.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:51 pm

Have had two, with the second having a polyp removed. But also watched the joys of an intestinal perforation of a healthy individual, which resulted in a pretty hellish 12 months with a surgery to go. I'm rethinking having another one.

dead man walking · Post by **dead man walking** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 2:01 pm

my most recent anal penetration was by an attractive young woman with a bar of music tatooed on her neck.

dead man walking · Post by **dead man walking** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 2:01 pm

she was administering a pre-procedure enema

Grandpa's Spells · Post by **Grandpa's Spells** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:29 pm

nafod wrote:Have had two, with the second having a polyp removed. But also watched the joys of an intestinal perforation of a healthy individual, which resulted in a pretty hellish 12 months with a surgery to go. I'm rethinking having another one.

I believe the rates at which errors happen are trackable. It's like car accidents, some people are shitty drivers and some neighborhoods have more them.

Had my first one today, polyp removed. The discomfort in prep and procedure are generally made out to be a much bigger deal than it was. The prep isn't fun, but I wouldn't go past "mildly annoying" to describe it.

Interesting that there may be studies saying this is a waste of time. I think any metrics that only include death are probably flawed. Permanent colostomies are no fun, and something doesn't have to kill you to make you wish you had it checked a lot sooner.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:30 pm

dead man walking wrote:she was administering a pre-procedure enema

I hope you stopped at Hoss' for a full-on assault on the hot food bar prior

Dunn · Post by **Dunn** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:16 pm

I'm seeing some of you saying +40-45 and I've seen some places saying as early as 35. While I have no desire to let anyone have anal relations with me, medical or otherwise, at what age should this really ce a consideration? I've seen a number of folks suffer from colon cancer and have no desire to ever go through that, so prevention is a big deal to me.

SubClaw · Post by **SubClaw** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:34 pm

How often are you supposed to check your prostate once you get past 40+?

Andy83 · Post by **Andy83** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:57 pm

SubClaw wrote:How often are you supposed to check your prostate once you get past 40+?

After you stop smoking and drinking, everything goes to hell and you'll be dead before your first SS check if you keep listening to all that medical propaganda.

Grandpa's Spells · Post by **Grandpa's Spells** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:19 pm

Dunn wrote:I'm seeing some of you saying +40-45 and I've seen some places saying as early as 35. While I have no desire to let anyone have anal relations with me, medical or otherwise, at what age should this really ce a consideration? I've seen a number of folks suffer from colon cancer and have no desire to ever go through that, so prevention is a big deal to me.

I've heard 50 unless you have a family history, then 10 years earlier (or 10 years earlier than when your close relative got it, whichever is sooner). I'm 40 and my dad was diagnosed in his late 60's, so that was that.

I did that 23andme screening and found this was one of my elevated risks. Don't know if that would pass muster as a reason to go early by itself. Fortunately, that was one of the only elevated risks, and the others weren't the things you dread.

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