Dreading that colonoscopy? Here’s why you shouldn’t
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IDAHO FALLS — Doug Corbett was only 37 years old when he started having mystery pains.
“It felt like a knife was stabbing my stomach,” he said.
The pain was random, starting suddenly and then stopping, and sometimes moving.
He went to see Dr. Larry Evans, a gastroenterologist at Grand Teton Gastroenterology in Idaho Falls, who ruled out several other issues. Soon they decided to go forward with a colonoscopy.
“I didn’t think they’d find anything. I had no family history of colon cancer, but at this point, I was willing to try anything,” he said.
The colonoscopy revealed a 6-centimeter mass. It was cancerous, so surgery was scheduled to remove it.
He is now cancer free.
Corbett knows that spending just one and a half days to get a colonoscopy — what is typically viewed as an inconvenient procedure — is well worth it. In fact, it saved his life.
“I was one of the lucky ones. You won’t regret it,” he said.
Evans said it’s common for people to avoid a colonoscopy.
“People who have never had a colonoscopy view the procedure with some trepidation, but if you talk to people who have actually had a colonoscopy (with a gastroenterologist), the procedure is actually a lot easier than they anticipated,” he said.
Those who have just turned 50 are highly encouraged to be screened.
Evans has personally had two screenings and said the worst part is the prep, which typically involves drinking 16 ounces of a liquid the evening prior to the colonoscopy, with another 16 ounces the morning of the procedure. The patient can continue to drink clear liquids up to 2 hours prior to procedure time.
It’s only a 20- to 25-minute procedure at the clinic and is performed while the patient is under sedation. The doctor advances the colonoscope all the way through the colon, and on the way back out, the doctor will look for any precancerous polyps, which can even be removed as they are found. Polyps are sent to pathology to be tested for cancer.
After the patient fully awakens and is able to get dressed and talk to the doctor, he or she is driven home by a friend or family member.
“If there were no precancerous polyps, and no family history of colon cancer or polyps, the patient will not need another screening colonoscopy for 10 years,” Evans said.
The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies cover colonoscopies for those over age 50.
Dr. Craig Lords, of Lords Chiropractic in Idaho Falls, went in for his first colonoscopy at age 51. Thankfully, for him it was a non-event, and he found it to be a lot better than he anticipated. The worst part was the prep, but the actual day of the colonoscopy was no big deal, he said.
“Going in, I remember talking to two nurses and a doctor, and the next thing I knew my wife was picking me up.”
His doctor didn’t find anything concerning, so he’s cleared from having another colonoscopy for another 10 years.
“Early detection is key. Your survival rate is so much higher if you catch it early. Just get past the embarrassment and get it done,” he said
Although many cancers can’t typically be screened until a problem arises, colon cancer is very preventable. Dr. Ned Warner, also a gastroenterologist with Grand Teton Gastroenterology, never thought he’d be one to deal with colon cancer, but no one is immune.
“I got the news that my older sister had a colon polyp noted on her first colonoscopy at age 56. I should have had a colonoscopy at age 40, according to the guidelines as I had a first=degree relative with colon polyps before age 60. Luckily I wasn’t too bad of a patient. I only waited one year,” he saoid
Warner was 43 when his colonoscopy revealed a large polyp in his mid-colon. “The polyp was so big that cancer was a consideration.”
The polyp biopsies came back as precancerous, so his colleague, Evans, then repeated the colonoscopy and was able to completely remove the polyp in pieces so surgery wasn’t required.
“If the polyp was left in my colon until I was 50, I would have likely had a localized colon cancer requiring surgery and chemotherapy. If I would have waited until I was 55 or 60, I could have had deadly metastatic colon cancer,” Warner said.
He learned a personal life lesson: No matter who you are, prevention is key.
“I see too many people get a preventable cancer,” Warner said. “Still one out of 20 get colon cancer a year. We can do better. Are you needing a screening?”