It’s the screening test no one really looks forward to, but a colonoscopy is one of the few tests that can prevent cancer.

“Colon cancer is almost 100 percent curable if found in its early stages,” said Dr. Aristotle Damianos, a gastroenterologist at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “A colonoscopy is the most accurate test there is for looking at the entire colon.”

Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, affecting 1 in 20 adults. The American Cancer Society estimates 142,820 people will be diagnosed in 2013 and that 50,830 will die from colon cancer in the United States.
Colon cancer, when discovered early, is highly treatable. Screening detects pre-cancerous polyps and allows them to be removed during the colonoscopy before they become cancerous. Screening also helps find colon cancer at an early stage, when treatment often leads to a cure.

Most colon cancers develop first as colorectal polyps, which are abnormal growths inside the colon or rectum that may later become cancerous.
Colonoscopies are recommended for everyone over the age of 50.

Certain other high-risk groups may undergo screening colonoscopy at an earlier age. High-risk groups include people with a family history of colon cancer, prior history of polyps or a history of inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.

“If there is a family history of colon cancer, the patient’s primary care physician may recommend a colonoscopy for the patient when he or she is 10 years younger than the age when the relative was diagnosed with colon cancer, or at age 40, whichever comes first,” Damianos said.

Colonoscopy is also often recommended to investigate specific symptoms such as blood in the stool, diarrhea, anemia, or to follow up on an abnormal X-ray.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital is again offering free colonoscopies for three Saturdays in March for clients of Families First Health and Support Center in Portsmouth.

“This is our third year partnering with them,” Damianos said. “Last year, we screened 32 patients and found precancerous polyps in 25 percent of them that we removed.”
Two patients were found to have cancer.

“One was cured,” Damianos said. “And one went on to have surgery.”

Beginning in 2014, polyp removal should be a covered procedure during a colonoscopy in a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that requires coverage of preventive care, including screening colonoscopies, by insured and self-funded health benefit plans with no out-of-pocket cost to patients.

“This is good news for us,” said Dr. Brain Hyett, a gastroenterologist who practices at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and York Hospital in York, Maine. “We may get more patients to come in for screenings.”

Hyett said colon cancer is a “silent disease,” and colonoscopies can “absolutely save lives.”

Colonoscopies are performed as a day procedure in the endoscopy unit of the hospital. They are usually done under conscious sedation, but may be done by general anesthesia depending on the individual patient’s health history.

While there is a virtual colonoscopy that can be done in radiology, if polyps are detected, the scope procedure must be done to remove the polyps. The preparation is the same for both tests.
While most patients say the test is a breeze, it’s the preparation the night before that makes the experience seem unpleasant. It usually consists of drinking a special preparation to clean out the colon. A clear liquid diet is also ordered for 24 hours prior to the test. Patients are asked not to drink anything with red coloring that may look like blood during the test.

“There are a variety of preparations,” said Erin McCarthy, clinical coordinator of endoscopy at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “We take into consideration the patient’s age and underlying medical issues. Most do very well.”

Damianos said the volume of preparation fluid the patient has to drink is half of what it was 10 years ago and that some can take it in a pill form.
Jane May, leader of surgical patient care at York Hospital, said depending on the time the procedure is scheduled, the patient may begin the preparation in the middle of the night.
Since March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, York Hospital is offering an open house on Wednesday, March 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the special procedures area of the hospital’s new surgery center.

At 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, Dr. Damianos will offer a free community lecture at Portsmouth Regional Hospital called “Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Crohn’s & Ulcerative Colitis.” Register online at www.portsmouthhospital.com/calendar or call Consult-A-Nurse at (888) 421-1080.

The above is an exert from a news@seacoastonline.com article by Suzanne Laurent click the link for the original story.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20130310-LIFE-303100314