“A lot of people are afraid of colonoscopies but very few studies have documented the reasons why,” according to James M. Church, MD, of the department of colorectal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic. “Colonoscopy screening is the best way to prevent colorectal cancer but people often do not make use of the test because they are afraid of it.
A study in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology found a modified colorectal cancer screening tool that included body mass index led to improved risk prediction for advanced neoplasia. Researchers based the tool on the Asia Pacific Colorectal Screening score. See the abstract here. See the review article in Physician’s Briefing here.
A study published in Cancer examined if patient navigation impacted colonoscopy outcomes. Here’s what they found: 1. Patients in the navigated group were 11.2 times more likely to complete colonoscopy than control patients. 2. Navigated patients were 5.9 times more likely to have adequate bowel preparation. 3. Navigated patients also missed no appointments compared to
Doctors should also follow up on CRC (colorectal cancer) symptoms in younger adults: Sarah DeBord was 24 when she first noticed blood in her stool. She saw a gastroenterologist who did a procedure called a flexible sigmoidoscopy to examine her lower colon and rectum, then gave her a diagnosis of hemorrhoids. “I don’t see any
