--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "oye34vay" <msilver1951@...> wrote: > > Came across this in response to not having a colonoscopy. > > http://www.fibermenace.com/crc/crc_colonoscopy.html
Get your doctor to read this and comment on it. Has s/he recommended a colonoscopy for you? Note that the writer is selling various colon-health products, including a post-colonoscopy "Colorectal Recovery Kit" for $120, so he has a stake in fostering folks' anxiety about the state of their colons and the risks of colonoscopy. Color me dubious. Also find out the statistics on complications of colonoscopy from wherever you're contemplating getting one and compare its complication rate with his statistics. The statistics he gives are overall averages, including from colonoscopy "factories," where the rate of complications may be higher than normal and push up the average. IOW, if you go to a good place, its complication rate may be lower than average. Bottom line, it's worth it if it detects cancer, and not if it doesn't, but you won't know until you have one, so "Is it worth it?" is an unanswerable question for the individual; the overall statistics don't tell you that. Obviously you want to reduce the risk of complications as much as possible, but whether that involves buying expensive "kits" is dubious. Take a look at "About Author" on the Web site. I'm not much impressed with his medical background. His books aren't exactly self-published, but the company that publishes them doesn't seem to publish anything else. He does appear to be well-meaning and humane, but his expertise is another issue. There seems to be a trend recently to downgrade the value of screening tests for people who aren't at high risk--first of mammography, and just recently of PSA tests for prostate cancer--but there's tremendous controversy about this among medical professionals, leading to mass confusion and angst among patients. It's infuriating. The site recommends the book "Should I Be Tested for Cancer?" that has received excellent reviews from medical authorities. I own it, and I think it's excellent. It won't give you yes-or-no answers, but it should help give you a clearer perspective on the risk/benefit equation. > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "oye34vay" <msilver1951@> wrote: > > > > Any of you ol' timers have an opinion about having a Colonoscopy? I > > understand that colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in the > > US, 100,000 a year. That's under 3% of the US population. I'm an ol' timer > > but I hate these preventive procedures. What do you think? Is it worth it? > > Have any of you ol' timers had it done? They recommend starting at the age > > of 50. I'm 60 but dam blam it, I think a good shot of whiskey twice a day > > keeps those creepy crawlers away! > > > > Mark
