Having worked at a colonoscopy center for 8 years as a nurse, and as the wife of a stage 3 colon cancer survivor diagnosed via colonoscopy at age 46, I’m a proponent of them. But you sounded so sure it wasn’t the right thing for you, I thought I’d suggest alternatives that you could get on board with.
If you are good with colonoscopy, you should continue with that screening if you are at risk. The FIT DNA and other type tests are certainly good for a high percentage of people and better than nothing for the rest.
@Nrdsb4 - thank you for your insight and suggestions. 90% of my objection to the procedure was the awful experience I had with the prep.
And I had read that if (like my father) you die from it in your 80s, it’s not the same “family history” of the disease as if you get it in your 60s. But I’m glad I had it done. 2 polyps removed; will get results next week.
Just came home from my 5 year colonoscopy and I’m good to go for another 5 years.
Apparently, at my last colonoscopy I had several pre-cancerous polyps removed; how did I not know that? Probably just as well I did not know (or remember?) as my mom had stage 3 colon cancer and a great chunk of her colon removed!
I found the prep. particularly brutal this time - I stopped eating after dinner Monday, took the first dulcolax at noon yesterday (Tuesday), and started drinking mirilax from 5pm yesterday evening until 5am this morning, for a 10am procedure today. I don’t remember my previous two colonoscopies being as brutal; I’m exhausted!
@momo2x2018 I had dulcolax and miralax as well. But was supposed to start at 5 pm and drink 1 cup of Gatorade mixed with miralax (1 bottle mixed with 64 oz of Gatorade) every 10 minutes until gone.
I drank it every 15 minutes because 10 was too short of an interval for me, but I drank it within 2 hours.
I was up going to the bathroom until 11 or so, then went to sleep.
My procedure was at 10 am.as well.
@mommdc Your prep sounds much more civilized; I’m convinced my schedule was designed to torture. I’ve had two previous colonoscopies and I do not recall it being as tough as the prep I just had. I’m fairly confident my previous preps were similar to yours.
I used coconut water instead of gatorade, and I took a swig of ginger ale after each glass!
@mackinaw One piece of advice. The doctors sometimes debrief you just after the procedure on what they may or may not have found out. Sometimes they don’t realize that although you may look like you’re awake you actually aren’t fully conscious. So one strong recommendation: if another family member is with you make sure they hear the debriefing and even take notes.
Wise advice! I had my colonoscopy a few days ago, at the end of which the dr. told me that this time there were no polyps, they had all be removed at my last colonoscopy, five years ago. Huh? I didn’t know I hd polyps five years ago - she told me they were precancerous (aren’t they all?) and that I shoud get another colonoscopy in five years.
The point is, and I had no clue, and certainly no memory of being told I had polyp at all! I’d like to have remembered that part; my mom had colon cancer - it’s useful information to have!
@VaBlueBird: Good luck with the procedure. It’s now about 16 years since I had my first colonoscopy. At my age, and given that I was dx’d with ulcerative colitis, I actually don’t mind repeating the colonoscopies. Of course the prep is a pain. But I get good feedback from the scopings. And sometimes in this kind of situation a new doctor will see things that a previous one did not.
There are three kinds of polyps: hyperplastic, and adenomas.
Hyperplastic never turn into cancer.
About two-thirds of all polyps found are adenomas, and those have the potential to turn into cancer – hence the term, “precancerous” – but left untreated, only 5% of them would turn into cancer. (But that’s a general risk statistic, not an individual statistic).
Another type is sessile serrated polyps – less common, but also now considered risky – though I don’t know if they would be termed “precancerous.”
But the point is that “precancerous” does not mean - “on the way to becoming cancer” – rather, it means, that there is a small risk of it becoming cancer. The vast majority of adenomas will not ever become cancerous, but since there is no way to know, they are always removed when found.
@calmom – thank you for posting this info! I have my appointment tomorrow with my doctor (he removed some polyps during my recent colonoscopy). If I heard “precancerous” without reading what you wrote, I would be freaking out.
For those of you considering an alternate screening procedure such as Cologuard, be aware of the potential insurance implications. It seems that if Cologuard triggers the need for a followup colonoscopy, it may be considered by your insurance company as diagnostic rather than preventative, meaning you could get charged a deductible and/or a copay.
This could add up to quite a bit of money, particularly if you have a high deductible plan.
Good point – note that the Cologuard has a false positive rate of 6% for people under age 65, and 13% for those over 65. The rate is higher for older patients because of normal age-related DNA changes. Annual FIT testing has a lower false-positive rate.
The FIT is also less sensitive overall, but the annual vs. triennial schedule results in a slightly better overall detection rate of true cancers over time. The same issue with preventive vs. diagnostic charges would still apply, except that FIT is so cheap that it would probably be quite easy for a person to pay for private screening out-of-pocket without having it billed to insurance.
The situation with Medicare is somewhat different than with private insurance. Standard Medicare patients would be charged a 20% copay for the diagnostic procedure if a polyp is found and removed, whether or not the procedure was initially deemed to be screening – and there’s no maximum out-of-pocket for Medicare. But the copays typically are picked up by a medicare supplement policy. For those with Medicare Advantage, it depends on the policy.
But again, the FIT or Cologuard are meant for low-risk patients, who are also weighing in factors other than out-of-pocket medical costs. The time-off-from work factor can be a big issue for some-- as well as a whole host of medical/health related issues that could make either the prep or the anesthesia more complicated for some patients.
How’s this for irony? A few weeks ago I received a letter from the practice where my 2010 colonoscopy was performed letting me know that my 10th anniversary was this year, and suggesting that I call for an appt. Prevention being the best cure and all that.
I have been tempted to call them up and say that 8 years after my first colonoscopy I was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer, so thanks anyway. B)
My surgeon sort of implied that maybe they missed something back then, but that’s an unknown. My right-side tumor likely arose from one of those flat sessile polyps that @calmom mentioned. They are significantly harder to find, especially since they are often hidden in the folds near the hepatic flexure, where my tumor arose. So I’m not about to blame anyone. But I did get kind of a kick out of the letter.
Perhaps that is why the two other rich countries that recommend colonoscopy as primary screening also recommend (in addition) more frequent FIT in years between scheduled colonoscopy.
I had one with “conscious sedation”. I found neither the “prep” nor the procedure at all unpleasant (the drink was very salty however). I felt nothing during the procedure or when they removed two very small polyps. And even though I was awake the entire time, I wasn’t really aware of what was happening and was surprised when they said they were done. I got the results immediately and everyone involved was great. A lot of worry for nothing.