Posted by Nick Dutton - email
TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Colon cancer awareness got a big awareness boost Wednesday.
The effort aimed to alleviate fear and hopefully save lives.
CBS' The Early Show anchor Harry Smith made history by allowing live TV cameras along for his colonoscopy Wednesday morning.
The CBS Evening News' Katie Couric accompanied Smith. After her colonoscopy was broadcast in 2000, researchers documented a 20 percent increase in the number of colonoscopies.
Folks who have lost loved ones are desperate to bring awareness to the second leading cause of cancer deaths.
ProMedica Gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Basista thinks all the coverage will help raise awareness.
"The therapies are very good, the surgeries are less dramatic…, and the chemo therapies actually work quite well for this," Basista said.
However, fear of the screening procedure deters some patients, leading them to consider a virtual colonoscopy.
But Basista says the non-invasive procedure is not as effective. "The concern about virtual colonoscopies is that it's not as sensitive as the standard procedure. It doesn't see all of the lesions and there's certain types it doesn't see at all."
Doctors recommend colon cancer screening for everyone over 50. If your report comes back clean, you'll need to get rescreened every 10 years. However, if you have a relative with colon cancer, you will need to schedule a check earlier. A good rule is 10 years prior to the age they were when they got cancer – and every 5 years after that.
