The colonoscopy is known as “the gold standard” of colon cancer prevention. If colon polyps are detected in the earliest stage, their removal is considered 100% curative. If detected in Stage I, there is almost a 95% survival rate. In Stage II, the survival rate falls to 83% and in Stage III, to 44%. In Stage IV, the final stage, there is only an 8% survival rate once the cancer has spread all over the body. With a virtual colonoscopy, early detection is possible.
To prepare for a virtual colonoscopy, you will need to complete a bowel prep, just like with a normal colonoscopy prep. You will need to empty all solid waste materials from your gastrointestinal tract by sticking to a clear liquid diet for 1 to 3 days before the procedure. This means you may only consume fat-free broth, strained fruit juice, water, coffee, tea, Gatorade and Jell-O. The night before your colonoscopy screening, you will take a laxative (in pill or powder format) to loosen your stools and increase the frequency of your bowel movement until everything has been cleared from your system. Just before the exam, you’ll drink a contrast liquid, which will make your large intestine appear very bright during the scan so abnormal cells will stand out better.
In many ways, a virtual colonoscopy is preferable to a conventional screening colonoscopy procedure. For one, this cancer alternative screening test does not require the insertion of a colonoscope tube into the entire length of the colon, which can sometimes be uncomfortable. Instead, a thin tube is placed into the anus and rectum, with air used to expand the large intestine, which does not feel any different than the fullness after eating a meal. Secondly, no sedation is required. With a traditional colonoscopy, patients must bring a chaperone to drive them to and from the procedure. Thirdly, the virtual scan provides clearer and more detailed images than the barium x-ray test and takes less time than most other screening tests.
Dr. Perry Pickhardt, a radiologist from the University of Wisconsin, calls the virtual colonoscopy “the most cost-effective and safest screening option available.” He adds that this option may “encourage more adults to undergo screening.” Dr. Pickhardt appeared on PBS’s “News Hour” in 2003, talking about this exciting new screening test. He told Margaret Walker, “By using this 3-D virtual fly-through to actually find the polyps, which I believe is a more effective search pattern, we’re able to match conventional colonoscopy in performance.” In fact, a number of patients find this colon cancer prevention screening preferable to more invasive tests.
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