Last edited Tue Mar 12, 2013, 08:09 PM - Edit history (1)

I had one last year and came out good. They have you sign papers for risks but what happened to this guy was a big risk! I hope he sues the dr.

BUT as a colon cancer survivor I would never want the word getting out that colonoscopies are not recommended.

I was lucky. I had had a clean colonoscopy at age 50 with a planned recall in 7-10 years. When I changed doctors at age 53 I decided to go ahead and have another colonoscopy. They found a stage 0 tumor in the sigmoid colon. They were able to successfully remove it and the pathology including the lymph nodes was very clean. Oncologist said there was nothing really to do because the cancer had been removed from my body and any chemo would have less than a 1% effect on my 10 year prognosis.

I go in annually for a colonoscopy. They continue to find a couple of small polyps each year and remove them. That one day of preparation and the discomfort of dealing with the procedure are nothing compared to having my health.

Again, I respect the view that these procedures in truly elderly patients are possibly inappropriate but I don't want anyone to be discouraged from getting one. For me it was a decision to "baseline" my health condition with a new doctor that probably saved my life. I had no symptoms and had no reason to think I had cancer.

They found a non cancerous polyp in me 3 years ago. I'm required to have a full colonoscopy every 5 years now because of this.

I hope he sues and is awarded a US Mint.

for screening. So I save Medicare's money by not ever having one.

on edit: I know that sounded really snarky, but I would gladly wave my magic wand and let any one get a colonoscopy that needs one, regardless of cost to Medicare. Colon cancer is one of those things that can be so easily diagnosed early.

Per my previous post I survived colon cancer and am considered cancer-free. My friend, a 48 year old man, was not so lucky.

He had a colonoscopy at age 46 (before the normal "magic age" of 50) because he had some symptoms of something. He had no health insurance because he had been laid off and could not afford COBRA. He went to a public health hospital in California where they performed a colonoscopy and found cancer in the borderline area between the lower colon and the rectum.

The referred him to a surgeon who proceeded to remove a section of the lower colon without consulting with an oncologist. He was declared cancer-free.

Little did he know that the surgeon, not a cancer specialist, had not consulted with an oncologist. The particular borderline area where the cancer was located could have been colon or rectal cancer. Because of this, chemo/radiation is the correct protocol. This is often followed up with surgery.

3 months later the cancer had spread to his liver and other organs because the surgeon did not follow the correct protocol. He is now in stage IV colon cancer and not expected to live much longer.

I also lost a former professor friend of mine to colon cancer 4 years ago.

This is a killer and with regular screenings it can be avoided. Don't avoid the procedure because it is "icky" or because you want to save a few dollars. It could be your life you are saving.

Glad you caught yours early. Just horrible about your friend.
My mom didn't know she had it until she was stage III. I have colonoscopies done now early for my age because of family history. I took care of her when she was terminal....there are a lot of other ways that I would prefer to "go".

Grandmother would have died in the 1960's from colon cancer instead of living until 2001 when she was 94. Have a colonoscopy. The removed one pollop when I had one after my 50th. What happened to this gentleman is stupid and tragic.

but I still think colonoscopies are our best defense against colon cancer. If caught in time its easily cured. I have a condition that puts me at higher risk for colon cancer so I'm screened every 3 yrs. While the prep is certainly an inconvenience, the test itself was nothing I slept through the whole thing, spent some time in recovery and then went home. And having my Dr. tell me my colon is clear was worth every bit of the inconvenience.

I wonder if the complications this gentlman experienced had anything to do with his age, but rather he just had an incompetant Dr.

I say screen early and often!!!!!! This is a cancer that does not have to be experienced or something one dies from. We know how to detect it. The test is relatively straight-forward. You essentially fast the day before and then drink a mega laxative to clear your system out the night before. You go in where they insert an IV and wheel you into the procedure room. They sedate you for the 45 minute procedure during which you are oblivious to the fact they are inserting a flexible tube with a light, camera and other features into your anus and extend it up through your entire large intestine.

You wake up where the doctor tells you what he/she found. You have some gas that day.

Big deal if it saves your life!!!