Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Colonoscopies are serious business. The procedure involves sending a small camera inside the colon to search for abnormalities, including colon or rectal cancers, also known as colorectal cancer. Regular colon screenings can find polyps even before they become cancerous. By removing those polyps, one can literally dodge colorectal cancer.

Sure, the procedure can cause anxiety. Just the thought can make you cringe. And then there’s the process one has to endure to cleanse the bowel even before the procedure begins, a practice that can take a day or more. This involves taking a pill or drinking a solution that forces the intestines to purge their contents.

While an important procedure, it is not without its comics. This week, Sacramento Arts & Entertainment Examiner N.E. Frances, who was preparing for her own colonoscopy, compiled a list of humorous colonoscopy videos. If you’re preparing for a colonoscopy and are feeling a little anxious, check out the colonoscopy humor here.  It’s guaranteed to take at least a little of the stress out of the procedure.

Humor aside, colonoscopies do serve an important purpose. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States among men and women combined. Caught early, the disease can be curable, which is why regular colonoscopies are important. Colon screenings are recommended for people beginning at age 50 and younger for those who have a family history or are exhibiting symptoms, such as blood in the stool.

Risks from the procedure are low – about 0.35 percent.

Some patients may also suffer from complications from their bowel-cleansing solution. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a black box warning on prescription Oral Sodium Phosphates (OSP) such as Visicol and Osmo Prep because some patients who used the products suffered from a severe kidney injury known as acute phosphate nephropathy. Over-the-counter OSP solutions, such as those made by C.B. Fleet, have been pulled from the market. While the risks with OSPs is higher among older patients, most doctors have turned to other, safer laxatives to prep the bowel before colonoscopy.

Don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about any concerns you may have about the bowel cleansing process, or the colonoscopy procedure.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 20th, 2009 at 10:04 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.