Posted on 02/23/2016 2:14:57 PM PST by originalbuckeye
TORONTO-New Canadian guidelines say colonoscopy should not be used for routine screening to detect colorectal cancer in patients with no symptoms or family history of the disease.
The guidelines from the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care strongly recommend that low-risk patients aged 50 to 74 be screened using fecal occult blood tests every two years or sigmoidoscopy every 10 years.
Sigmoidoscopy involves the insertion of a flexible scope to view the lower portion of the colon and rectum rather than the entire tract, as is the case with colonoscopy.
The task force also advises against screening asymptomatic patients age 75-plus because of their reduced life expectancy and the lack of research showing benefit or potential harms of the tests.
Task force member Dr. Scott Klarenbach of the University of Alberta says the guidelines do not apply to high-risk patients who have symptoms or a family history of the disease.
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in men and the third leading cause of cancer deaths in women. In 2015, an estimated 25,000 Canadians were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and approximately 9,300 died from the disease.
"Although colonoscopy may offer clinical benefits that are similar to or greater than those associated with flexible sigmoidoscopy, direct evidence of its efficacy from randomized controlled trials in comparison to the other screening tests . . . is presently lacking," said Dr. Maria Bacchus, an internist at the University of Calgary who chaired the guideline working group.
"However, ongoing clinical trials are working to address this research gap," she said.
The new guidelines are based on the latest available research and update the task force's previous 2001 advice, which recommended fecal occult blood testing every one to two years or sigmoidoscopy every five years in asymptomatic adults.
The Canadian guideline is similar to the 2008 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation that adults aged 50 to 75 should be screened for colorectal cancer using a fecal occult blood test or flexible sigmoidoscopy.
While the U.S. group also recommended colonoscopy, its Canadian counterpart does not believe there is sufficient evidence to support that decision.
The Canadian task force was established to develop clinical practice guidelines for primary-care providers related to a variety of preventive-health issues, based on a systematic analysis of the most recent scientific evidence.
I was told that until she turned 113 she could climb stairs and do a little sewing. She was an amazing woman.
Your great aunt would have made out quite well using “viager” as it is done in France.
You may remember this story.
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/29/world/a-120-year-lease-on-life-outlasts-apartment-heir.html
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Your colonoscopy cost too much. Mine was less than $6,000 and I also had a semi-Sigmoidoscopy.
This was in 2014. Had a couple of pre-cancerous polps removed (I’ve had them over the year so get a colonoscopy every 4-5 years, not ten, esp. if you are over 60).
Semi-signmoid found a bronchial lesion that had been bothering me for years. It was cauterized and I haven’t had a problem since.
Also, I was next to a young man (in his 40’s or at most, early 50’s) in our doctor’s in-house operating clinic. That day they found that he had a fully-grown cancerous polyp that was about to explode like a ripe mushroom head, which would have killed him. Talk about good timing.
Cancer killed both my parents (liver and leukemia) yet we had no general history of cancer in our family. Neither were smokers or drinkers. I had minor skin cancer and it was discovered only when something unusual started to grow on my arm. The other cancerous sites had been around for about 8-10 years but were not readily detectable.
A regular colon checkup every 4-5 years is one of the best insurance policies around. If you’re dead, you won’t have to worry about getting that 10 year exam.
Don’t be cheap! Be smart and stay alive!
I remember that French woman, she died a few months after my aunt! If my great aunt had lived a few more months she would have been the oldest person in the world. My aunt must have died in 1995 instead of ‘96.
There is a website where you can look them up. My great aunt was Margaret Seward Skeet.
I’ve had USAA since 1971. I love the company.
Wow! That’s quite an endorsement. Thank you, Duchess47.
My goodness,your aunt even has a Wikipedia article.Very cool.
I saw that her daughter reached 100.
Incredible.
My Mom made it to 91 but my father died young-—TB at 32.
You’ll be here for a long time-—I hope long enough to see this country come to it’s senses.
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“Long enough to see this country come to its senses” ............or watch it go down the drain.
I am 75 and in excellent health except for a few little aches, we never know what will happen in this life or when it will end.
What’s your point?
“Here I am-—83 years old.”
Yes but the government says you are probably dead so why should we listen to you?
“Yes but the government says you are probably dead so why should we listen to you?’
No one paid much attention to me when I was alive——but I’m persistent.
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Yea, that was nonsense. I’ve had three in the past 15 years and I think they were all in the $4000 range.
“Asymptomatic prostate cancer is very slow growing and usally the patient dies of something else before the cancer gets him. The PSA yields a very high percentage of false positives which can lead to needless, yes expensive, and sometimes very inconvenient treatments.”
All very true, but the PSA Test isn’t expensive (I’ve been told if I havd to pay for it myself it’s $200.). But I also have a relative who had his PSA go from 5 to 50 in a matter of a few months so all prostate cancers are not slow-growing. And for that matter, prostate biopsies are not conclusive. With his PSA at 50, he needed a 64 sample biopsy to find his malignancy.
Had one 15 yrs. ago ,
Doc is pushing for it,
I’m 61.
What to do ?
My doc pushed too but based on my family history I figured it would be a waste of time.
I also had absolutely no history of stroke or heart attack in either side of my family.
Three years ago I had a stroke.
The bottom line is listen to your doctor.
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Most people don’t have general anesthesia but rather light sedation.
I think you should think hard about it, Bobby. Prayers for your health.
I know what you eat, and I bet you DO have great gut bug populations!
I’ve heard they give good drugs for the procedure but no, not gonna do it...
Light sedation has risks and drawbacks, and full anesthesia is used about 30 per cent of the time.
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