Colon Cancer Screening: Don't Delay It

"It was no big deal. I don't understand why people stress over it."

"The procedure itself was totally painless and relatively easy."

"It was a piece of cake."

No, we didn't pay these 50-something women to give us these comments about their first colonoscopy. All we did was ask them to tell us honestly what it was like. Given the negative perception about colonoscopy, their responses might catch a few readers by surprise. It should also make you think twice about skipping your colorectal screening test. Because the reality is that colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer among women. Since it's also one of the few cancers we can stop before it even gets started (by removing precancerous polyps found during screening colonoscopies), the idea of missing something so clearly helpful has more than a few experts scratching their proverbial heads. And you don't have to get a colonoscopy. Other tests are available, although they, too, are underutilized.

The main reason women don't get recommended colorectal cancer screenings? Their health care professional never suggests it.

You'll never find David Stein, MD, neglecting to mention colorectal screening to a patient. The colorectal surgeon at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia sees all too often what happens when people neglect their screenings. That's why Dr. Stein is a big believer in colonoscopy. The statistics are amazing, he says. "About two percent of all colonoscopies pick up a cancer at the time of the test and about 15 percent pick up polyps," he says. So 17 percent of patients undergoing a colonoscopy—about one in five—will have a finding that will save them from cancer in the first place or a bad outcome if they have cancer.

"Colonoscopy probably detects true cancers about one centimeter or larger about 90 to 93 percent of the time," he says. And it's extremely safe.

The worst part of the colonoscopy, many agree, is the prep. For years, that meant drinking a large quantity of a nasty tasting liquid (even though it came in several flavors), designed to "empty you out." Today, however, depending on the recommendation from your colonoscopist, you may only need to take a handful of pills. You'll still spend a few hours in the bathroom, but at least you don't have to choke down that awful liquid.