Colonoscopy: The Most Effective Weapon Against Colorectal Cancer

While March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in the United States, this disease is one that the team here at Fairfax Colon & Rectal Surgery fights year-round. And our weapon of choice is the simple colonoscopy.

Each year in the United States, about 15 million colonoscopies are performed and these important screenings reduce the risk of colorectal cancer death by an estimated 60%.

In the following, we dive into the many benefits of the colonoscopy and why it should be an important part of your overall screening practices.

 What we’re screening for with a colonoscopy

When we perform a colonoscopy, we’re screening for early signs of colorectal cancers, which will be diagnosed in more than 150,000 Americans this year. 

As the name implies, colorectal cancers include colon cancer and rectal cancer and when we talk about early signs, we’re largely referring to abnormalities, such as growths called polyps, inside the colon or rectum.

What happens during a colonoscopy

Undergoing a colonoscopy is fairly simple and very quick. In the 12 hours leading up to your colonoscopy, you perform a cleanse so that we can get an unobstructed view of the walls of your colon and rectum.

When you arrive, we administer a light sedative and you likely won’t be aware of much during your colonoscopy. While you’re in this relaxed state, we insert a camera into your rectum and colon to look for irregular growths and adhesions. Should we find a polyp, we remove it for further study.

In all, this procedure takes us only about 30 minutes to perform and then you can go home afterward (you’ll need someone to drive you).

After your colonoscopy

As we just mentioned, we investigate anything we remove from your colon or rectum. If we find that the growth (polyp) is benign, we likely won’t suggest another colonoscopy for another 10 years. If there is a family history of colon cancer,  we may recommend another colonoscopy in another 5 years. 

We might suggest more frequent screening if we find precancerous cells or numerous or large polyps.

And if we do find evidence of cancer, the good news is that we can intervene straight away to treat the disease.

Who should have a colonoscopy and when

It used to be that we recommended the first colonoscopy at the age of 50 for both men and women, but we’ve lowered that to 45. The fact is that more colorectal cancers are being diagnosed in people under the age of 50 so this earlier screening is a good idea.

It’s not often that you have a chance to get the upper hand on cancer, but the colonoscopy is certainly a firm step in that direction and well worth your while.

To determine a good screening timeline or to schedule your colonoscopy, please contact our office.