The Importance of On-Time Colonoscopies

You may have heard that a colonoscopy is the “gold standard” for colon cancer screening; that’s because a colonoscopy is the screening trifecta! It’s thorough. The screening includes your entire colon and rectum. It’s visual. Your doctor is making a careful visual assessment, looking at your colon with a camera. It’s proactive. During the colonoscopy, your doctor can identify and remove most suspicious-looking growths, called polyps, stopping potential cancer in its tracks!
There is a lot of misunderstanding around colonoscopies. We promise, they’re not scary. And they can save your life.
What is a colonoscopy?
A colonoscopy is a way for a doctor, usually a gastroenterologist, to look inside your colon for polyps or abnormal tissue that could indicate cancer, pre-cancer, or other digestive diseases.
Polyps and other invasive growths are often very small and can lay flat against the lining of the colon and rectum, so it is important for your digestive tract to be clear of all digested food waste and material. To remove this, you will be asked to complete a colon “prep.” There are several varieties but all involve fasting and laxatives that produce frequent bowel movements, moving material out of the colon. Completing your prep is key to a successful colonoscopy. The better you prep, the more accurately your doctor can spot any problems.
What happens during my colonoscopy?
A colonoscopy is a 20-30 minute procedure. Patients are under partial or total anesthesia during this time. The doctor inserts a camera called a colonoscope into your rectum and moves through the colon. The camera allows the doctor to look for inflammation, abnormalities, and small growths called polyps. Your gastroenterologist will remove polyps during the procedure. Because of the sedation, most patients do not experience any discomfort during the process.
After the entire rectum and colon have been examined, and any polyps have been removed, the doctor retracts the camera. Patients may feel slight discomfort upon waking up, including feeling gassy, and are given time to recover before heading home.
Why do polyps need to be removed?
Polyps are removed because some will develop into colon cancer. Left undetected the cancer can spread to other organs, making it more difficult to treat.
Precancerous polyps and early-stage colon cancer often won’t produce warning signs or symptoms. Most people won’t notice any signs of cancer until it has progressed to a more advanced stage. So getting on-time colon cancer screening, including colonoscopies, is the best way to prevent colon cancer, and find it early when it is easiest to treat.
What happens after my colonoscopy?
If the doctor finds and removes any polyps or biopsies abnormal tissue during the procedure, the samples are sent to a pathology lab. Results will be shared with your doctor and they will contact you to follow up with the necessary next steps. If the polyps are benign, not precancerous, the doctor will make a recommendation to monitor for new polyps with another colonoscopy in 1-5 years depending on your results. And if no abnormalities were detected, and you have no family history of polyps or colon cancer, you won’t need a colonoscopy for another 10 years!

Be sure to share the results of your colonoscopy with your family, such as siblings, children, and parents, as your polyp history impacts when they should begin screening for colorectal cancer.