LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If there was a way you could definitely avoid the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Arkansas, you'd probably be interested, wouldn't you?
Well, there is a way.
Dr. Neelima Rao is in total agreement. She understands why people don't like to talk about her specialty: colorectal cancer.
“I think it's not talked about as much because of people being apprehensive about the procedure, about the prep and things like that,” Dr. Rao said.
She represents Gastroenterologists nationwide who know they offer the gold standard of cancer screenings: the colonoscopy.
“The reason colonoscopy is the gold standard is because we can actually diagnose and treat at the same time,” Dr. Rao said.
With a colonoscopy, you're getting two procedures for the price of one — a screening good for a decade.
“Compared to other cancers, like a mammogram you have to get it yearly,” Dr. Rao said, “or your prostate exam, you have to get it yearly. But, with a colonoscopy, if you have a normal one, you don't have to get another one for 10 years.”
The minimum age for that first colonoscopy is now 45, and yes, the doctor is aware of the horror stories people tell about the prep.
“I would say see your gastroenterologist,” Dr. Rao said. “First, all stories are not true. The preps have changed over the last several years. They are not as bad as they used to be.
Even with those advertised colorectal test kits, the colonoscopy still represents the best effort to find the lesions that are so disastrous.
You could be a polyp garden and not know it.
“You don't know that you're growing these polyps till we actually go in and take a look and remove them,” Dr. Rao said.
Now's the time to make the commitment. March is National Colorectal Awareness Month.
“For us every month is colon cancer awareness month,” Dr. Rao said.