Last month, a new study of a seemingly more user-friendly approach to colon cancer screening generated quite a buzz.
“Scans provide alternative to colonoscopies in spotting cancer,” read one headline. “Virtual colonoscopies ready for prime time” said another.
For anyone who could think of a thousand things they’d rather be doing than undergoing a traditional colonoscopy, it sounded like wonderful news. A federal study of CT colonography or “virtual colonoscopy” determined that the X-ray procedure was effective at detecting large cancers and precancerous growths in people with an average risk of colon cancer.
No general anesthesia? No need to take a day off from work? No problem! Those were no doubt the thoughts of many patients who are skittish about traditional colonoscopies – and the bowel preparation that accompanies them. Some experts expressed hopes that this vote of confidence in an alternative screening method which is less invasive and cumbersome would encourage more people to be checked for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
Now, I am all for appropriate colon screening. But as a practicing physician for more than 30 years, I have strong feelings against this procedure, and here’s why: