Inside look at colonoscopy procedure

[projekktor id=’17924′]
In honour of colon cancer awareness month, we’re taking a rare look inside a dreaded procedure. Most people hear the word colonoscopy and just cringe, but the procedure is life saving. It is 51-year old Todd Bright’s third colonoscopy “in this case the family, incidence of cancer in the family has spurred me on to make sure I take care of myself where I can”.

Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer in men and the third in women. Catching it early significantly increases survival rates. Anyone with a family history should be screened 10 years before the age when their relative was diagnosed.

“We have good medications now for sedation and we can do a lot maneuvers, we can do the procedure differently to minimize the amount of discomfort people have” says Dr. John Marshall, Chief Gastroenterologist at Hamilton Health Sciences.

If you don’t have a family history, you still need to get tested with a fecal occult blood test – you should do one every two years over the age of fifty. If your test is positive, you’ll need a colonoscopy. Having your bowel inflated can cause cramping and discomfort, but Todd Bright says it’s not so bad. “You wake up and you’re in the recovery room and the great staff are around taking care of you and you’re ready to go home.”