Re: Colonscopy Thread - Joel Siegel died this week

I read this article about how his cancer could have been entirely prevented. It's long, so did a separate thread. Worth a read.
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Obit: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3324632&page=1

Joel's Cancer Could Have Been Prevented
Doctors Stress the Need for Colonoscopy by Age 50

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, so it seemed only fitting for cancer survivor and "Good Morning America" entertainment editor Joel Siegel to share his story.

Siegel was diagnosed with cancer at 53, three years after most doctors say people should get screened for colon cancer through a colonoscopy. Doctors say people should be screened at an even earlier age if there is a history of cancer in their family. Siegel found out about his family's history of cancer while sitting in the recovery room.

"My Auntie Annie called to find out how I was doing, and she told me three of my mother's first cousins had colon cancer," Siegel said. "I had no idea."

"It took me eight years to get the guts to ask my oncologist if I'd had it at 50 instead of 53, what would have happened," Siegel said. "He said 75 percent to 80 percent chance they would have nipped it in the bud, and I never would have had to deal with any of them."

100 Percent Preventable and Manageable

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the United States. Nearly 60,000 Americans will die in 2006 from the cancer.

ABC News medical editor Dr. Tim Johnson said that colon cancer was "100 percent preventable" and was the most manageable cancer.

"The good news about colon cancer is that it takes about 10 years from the earliest stage, a benign growth, to [progress to] a full-blown cancer," Johnson said. "So we have a lot of time to find it and remove it. That's why we push for colonoscopy starting at age 50 or earlier if you're in high-risk groups."

When Siegel was 50, he said having a colonoscopy "was suggested, not policy."

"I'm convinced that if we got cancer of the dimple or cancer of the elbow, it would've been cured by now," Siegel said. "But cancer strikes in icky places we learn not to talk about and that's part of what we have to change. The colonoscopy itself, they give you drugs, no problem. The night before is messy, it's not fun. But you'll get to see your kids or grandkids graduate from college and that'll take some of the sting out of it."

'Better to Be Smart Than Lucky'

Johnson said that there were other procedures to test for colon cancer, but that a colonoscopy was the only one he would consider for himself.

"It looks at the entire colon," he said. "If you find something, you can remove it during the exam. I think it's the only way to go for screening."

After three operations, two bouts of radiation, and two bouts of chemotherapy, Siegel said he felt great.

"I'm of that first generation of people to whom cancer is a chronic but treatable disease, like diabetes or asthma," he said. "I get tested regularly. When it grows, I get treated. … I'm lucky and I know how lucky I am. But it's better to be smart than lucky.