Tag Archives: colonoscopy

Cancer Statistics

Prevention magazine recently teamed up with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to poll American women about cancer. They got some interesting results! More than fifty percent of women polled have a close friend or relative who has been diagnosed with cancer. That is a mixed blessing — it means there are a lot of people with cancer, but it also means that a lot of women are getting tested. 92% of women over forty are scheduling mammograms to detect breast cancer. 85% of women surveyed had a mammogram in the last two years. 94% of women polled … Continue reading →

Do You Know When To Get Screened?

You know what tests you need. Maybe it’s a mammogram and pap smear. Maybe it’s a colonoscopy. But do you know when you should start getting these tests in order to help protect yourself from cancer? According to the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), most Americans don’t know the appropriate age to start cancer screening tests. The National Cancer Institute developed HINTS to see how the general public accesses and uses information about cancer and has been studying screening habits since 2002. The bad news: Fifty-seven percent of American women did not know they should be getting mammograms starting … Continue reading →

Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. It is a cancer that develops in the colon or rectum; more than ninety percent of all cases develop in people age fifty and older. Your risk of developing colorectal cancer increases as you age. If everyone age fifty and older had a regular colorectal cancer screening test (like a colonoscopy), more than one third of the deaths from colorectal cancer could be avoided! Both men and women are at risk for this kind of cancer. As soon as possible after your fiftieth birthday, you should … Continue reading →

Alternatives to Colonoscopy

If your doctor has ordered a colonoscopy, you may be wondering what other choices you have. A colonoscopy really is the best test out there for detecting and treating problems in the colon. But there are some other options before going for a full colonoscopy. Barium enema — a test performed with an x-ray. This test is less accurate than a colonoscopy, often missing or misdiagnosing lesions. An abnormality detected with a barium enema may actually be residual waste in an incompletely cleansed colon. You may end up needing a colonoscopy anyway to clarify the results. Flexible sigmoidoscopy — a … Continue reading →

Preparing For A Colonoscopy

Depending on who you ask, preparing for your colonoscopy can be harder than undergoing the procedure itself! Your gastroenterologist will give you specific instructions for cleaning out your colon in advance. If your colon is not clear enough, your doctor won’t get an accurate look inside, and you’ll have to go through everything again. Clearing things out means a liquid diet for as many as three days before your test. Most doctors will only ask you to take clear liquids for a day or so. Your diet may include bouillon or broth, water, coffee or tea without milk, diet soda, … Continue reading →

Colonoscopy

Do you know what (and where) your colon is? Also known as your large bowel, the colon is the end section of your digestive tract. It is a hollow tube that connects the end of the small intestine to the rectum. Your colon is around five feet long, and is used to store waste and absorb water before the waste is eliminated as stool. A colonoscopy gives your doctor or gastroenterologist a chance to look inside your large bowel. The doctor will check for inflammation, ulcers and lesions, and abnormal growths. This test is most often used to check for … Continue reading →