March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The Village Pointe Endoscopy Center, a partnership between The Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC Physicians, is ready to take your appointment for a routine colonoscopy in west Omaha.
Why should I have a colonoscopy?
Colonoscopy screenings are extremely effective in detecting polyps that can become tumors. Early removal of polyps is key to preventing colon cancer. Physicians performing colonoscopies at the Village Pointe Endoscopy Center are experienced, board certified gastroenterologists who have completed specialized training.
Colonoscopies: Fact and Fiction
A common misconception is that colonoscopies are uncomfortable. In reality, a screening colonoscopy takes only about 30 minutes, with patients put into a twilight sleep so they remember little, if anything, of the procedure. The procedure is performed by using a video camera attached to a flexible, slender, lighted tube to examine the colon. Because sedation takes six to eight hours to completely wear off, patients should not drive, and require a family member or friend for transportation.
For most patients, the most challenging aspect of the colonoscopy is the preparation. The day prior to the procedure, a patient consumes only a clear liquid diet and drinks a preparation which clears the bowels. Here’s the truth. The taste has improved over the years. And some preps do taste better than others. Our physicians like to order the better-tasting ones for patients (five or six different flavors). As for the volume, patients need to drink the full gallon, however, it can be split up – two-thirds the night before then the final third at midnight. Patients appreciate this.
Is it time for a colonoscopy?
50 or older? The American Cancer Society recommends that healthy adults have a screening colonoscopy performed at age 50. However, only 55 percent of Nebraskans have one performed when they reach the recommended age.
Colonoscopy is recommended once every 10 years for healthy men and women following the initial screening at age 50. If there is a family history of colorectal cancer, the first colonoscopy should be performed 10 years before the age your first degree relative was diagnosed.
It is recommended that African-Americans, who have a higher incidence of colon polyps and cancer, begin screenings at age 40.
The majority of colorectal cancers and related deaths can be prevented through colonoscopy screenings of individuals who are 50 and older. Get yours today.
Call Today for an Appointment
To schedule a colonoscopy, contact your primary care doctor or call 800.922.0000 to make an appointment. Check out our blog specific to colonoscopy at http://bit.ly/1jbUUcr. Go to http://blogs.nebraskamed.com/ for more blogs.
Village Pointe Endoscopy Center
(Just west of Village Pointe)
111 N. 175th St., STE. 105
Omaha, Nebraska 68118
800.922.0000