In 2014, approximately 137,000 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer with more than 50,000 deaths. Among women, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in this country. The lowest mortality rates seem to be among the Western states with the highest mortality rates in the African-American community. Physicians recommend regular screening for colorectal cancer and polyp removal during the procedure. This increases the survival rate to 90 percent. But oftentimes, a woman’s fear, denial and embarrassment keep her from scheduling a colonoscopy. 

What is the colon and a colonoscopy?

First of all, the colon and rectum together make up the large intestine. It is involved in the end stage of digestion – the stomach digests the food, nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine and then the waste products move to the colon for removal from the body.

A colonoscopy is typically a one-day outpatient medical procedure to screen for colon and rectal cancers. This process allows doctors to look at the inner lining of the large intestine. In conjunction with anesthesia, a patient’s large intestine is inflated with air and a thin tube with a video camera is inserted into the rectum and carefully threaded through the entire colon. A colonoscopy helps to find ulcers, tumors and polyps, bleeding and areas of inflammation. Biopsies (taking of small amounts of tissue for lab examination) are collected, if necessary, and polyps and lesions are removed from the colon.

Experts recommend colonoscopies to check for cancer and polyps in the colon, seek the cause of blood in stools, find an explanation for sudden weight loss, discover what is causing chronic diarrhea and check out why there is an iron deficiency anemia in the patient. It is also advised that if an abnormal result comes back from a different colon cancer detecting test, a colonoscopy for further examination should be scheduled.