[Tax-chick]

It makes no sense at all that a colonoscopy is “preventive care.” A colonoscopy doesn’t prevent anything, except a good night’s sleep and a pleasant day afterward: it is solely a diagnostic procedure. Either the view shows nothing, or it shows something that requires medical action, such as polyps or a tumor.

[Tax-chick]

Removing polyps, on the other hand, is “preventive” in the true sense, because the polyps do not go on to become cancerous tumors. All my close family members over age 40 have had polyps removed (except my brother, who won’t get a colonoscopy). None of us has yet developed colon cancer, and my mother is in her 70s and my aunt in her 80s.

[Mr. Bird]

It makes no sense at all that a colonoscopy is “preventive care.” A colonoscopy doesn’t prevent anything, except a good night’s sleep and a pleasant day afterward: it is solely a diagnostic procedure. Either the view shows nothing, or it shows something that requires medical action, such as polyps or a tumor.

I'm cool with calling colonoscopies in asymptomatic patients "preventative". But if they find something and remove it, that's something else.

[cherry]

a scope can detect early cancer and if it does, it can prevent far more costly cancer treatments/surgeries etc plus save the life of the patient....

so its really just as "preventive" (of far worse outcomes) as a blood glucose check would be....taking steps to catch diseases early...