
Please see this link to the video and text interview by Patty Santos
key points include:
- Colon cancer rates are slowly rising in younger patients and falling in elderly patients, likely due to improved rates of screening in older groups
- Symptoms are sometimes subtle until a cancer is advanced. Watch out for rectal bleeding, abdominal pain that is not improving, weight loss, anemia, or a change in bowel habits
- Early detection is key to outcomes including need for surgery, chemotherapy, and survival
- Not all colonoscopies are equal in quality! Pick a doctor with a high ADR (adenoma detection rate), even a small difference can result in fewer missed lesions
To your health, JV