This is a more ambiguous subject. Part of the issue is that even when people come in with symptomatic colon cancer it is one of the more treatable cancers. Part of the issue is that the DNA stool testing is quite good and if your cologuard is negative there isn't really any reason to get a colonoscopy. Part of the issue is that colonoscopy is not a risk-free intervention.
This is the big study that came out of Europe last year, which found a very slight reduction in cancer occurrence but no reduction in mortality (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36214590/). There are some other big clinical trials ongoing.
I didn't say that any individual shouldn't do it, but it certainly isn't a slam dunk. The only medical procedures for cancer prevention that I would say are unequivocally beneficial are pap smears and removing skin lesions. Lifestyle is far more important. And unlike most of the stuff we talk about here, this actually is my specialty.
Boy is my husband going to love you. I was just busting his chops about scheduling his.
This is a more ambiguous subject. Part of the issue is that even when people come in with symptomatic colon cancer it is one of the more treatable cancers. Part of the issue is that the DNA stool testing is quite good and if your cologuard is negative there isn't really any reason to get a colonoscopy. Part of the issue is that colonoscopy is not a risk-free intervention.
This is the big study that came out of Europe last year, which found a very slight reduction in cancer occurrence but no reduction in mortality (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36214590/). There are some other big clinical trials ongoing.
I didn't say that any individual shouldn't do it, but it certainly isn't a slam dunk. The only medical procedures for cancer prevention that I would say are unequivocally beneficial are pap smears and removing skin lesions. Lifestyle is far more important. And unlike most of the stuff we talk about here, this actually is my specialty.
Thanks for the info!