It's that time of the year again.
MARCH IS COLON CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
According to the American Cancer Society, 108,070 Americans are likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer this year, an additional 40,740 with rectal cancer. Nearly 50 thousand will perish from those diseases. As devastating as those statistics are, the numbers are getting improving. Partly because of screening, not as many Americans are developing colon cancer because colon polyps are being discovered before they can develop into cancer. But it turns out we could be doing better. Reseachers reported this week that colonoscopies are probably overlooking an entire class of growth in the colon that often develop into cancer - flat growths. New colon cancer screening guidelines were announced this week and the buzzword was OPTIONS. On a more troubling note - Nevadans woke Friday morning to find out that spot inspections of outpatient surgical centers found 13 unidentified centers with allegedly unsafe medical practices similar to those documented at a Las Vegas endoscopy clinic tied to an outbreak of Hepatitis C. Some 40,000 patients of the Las Vegas clinic, some who had received screening colonoscopies, were urged last week to get tested for HEP C and other viruses.
I urge every one who is over the age of 50 to make certain to have a colonoscopy, if they have not had one. I had a colonoscopy the year before I discovered I had colon cancer and nothing showed up on that one, yet during the next year I developed a tumor and it was cancerous. Caught it early enough to still be almost a seven year survivor and I recommend if you notice any changes in your daily habits you go have a colonoscopy. It is an easy procedure and could save your life. The preparation for it is the worst part of the examine, but well worth easing one's mind to know you are not afflicted with this horrible disease. |
