For true peace of mind – and only one day of inconvenience – I’m going to go with a colonoscopy next time.
When I turned 45 my primary care physician recommended a colonoscopy or a Cologuard test as a screening for colon cancer. I opted for Cologuard because it’s easier. But when the result came back “abnormal,” he pointed me to a urologist within his group to determine next steps. I was understandably upset when they said I’d need to wait two months for an open appointment.
That’s when I decided to contact Cincinnati GI instead. Within a few days I was able to meet with a nurse practitioner who scheduled a colonoscopy for two weeks later with Dr. Nabhan.
Preparing for the colonoscopy wasn’t fun. But it wasn’t horrible either. I spent the evening on the couch watching football — it was a Sunday — between trips to the bathroom. If it had been a weekday, I could have easily put in a full day of work before the prep began, minimizing the impact on my work schedule.
Because I‘ve never had a colonoscopy, I was a little anxious because I wasn’t sure what to expect. But from the minute I walked in the door at Anderson Endoscopy Center, everyone was so nice. My mind was at ease when I realized how efficient and professional everyone was. Dr. Nabhan came in before the procedure to explain what would take place. And he came back afterwards to provide initial results (which I also got in writing to review when I got home because, admittedly, my brain was just a little fuzzy at that point). The whole thing didn’t seem to take any time at all and there was no pain.
It will be a few days before I get the pathology results of the biopsies they took; however, my mind is a bit more at ease, knowing that if any of the polyps are cancerous this single procedure has already removed them.
My advice for others is to get a colonoscopy if you’re due for one. Cologuard seemed simple at first but if any abnormality is found you ultimately need to schedule a colonoscopy anyway. Plus, now that I read more about Cologuard it seems there are a lot of false positives and negatives. For true peace of mind – and only one day of inconvenience – I’m going to go with a colonoscopy next time.
You can be the most fit person around and still get surprising results, so don’t put it off. Even if they find something as simple as a benign polyp, removing it could reduce your risk of colon cancer.
