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Colonoscopy May Not Benefit Seniors

Regular screenings for seniors are highly recommended so that their doctors would be able to assess their health status and apply all necessary precautions even before an illness sets in. In fact, screening and other preventive measures are included in the government initiated program Healthy People 2010 for seniors. Among the most effective screening methods—and most recommended too, for colon cancer—is the colonoscopy.

Colonoscopy is considered as the best screening method for colon cancer. Not only it detects and pinpoints the problem accurately, but also it provides the doctor the opportunity to take out suspected polyps and other abnormalities at the time of the procedure itself. Samples found and taken out are then sent to laboratory for analysis and further tests.

A few years back, guidelines for colon cancer screening clearly state that colonoscopy should be done when a person reaches the age of 50. The screening should be repeated every 10 years after, and that is for the remainder of the person’s life. Furthermore, there is no existing guideline when colonoscopy to seniors should not be done and when it should stop so most of the doctors resolve to this screening procedure once they see signs of colon cancer.

Apparently, a new study revealed that colonoscopy may even aggravate seniors’ health after undergoing this kind of screening method especially those with heart problems. Seniors who fall right into this red line are those belonging to age 85 and older while colonoscopy still stays as the best choice for all other age groups. Considering the age and the degree of illnesses a senior’s body holds, complications are never too far from them; these include bleeding, infection, and perforation of the intestine. While these complications are almost non-existent to younger adults or even to younger seniors ages 50-85, older adults are more susceptible to them and therefore the study concluded that maybe older seniors are better off without colonoscopy and may have to seek other alternative for colon cancer screening such as FOBT or fecal occult blood test. Furthermore, the study suggests less invasive types of screening to be done for seniors at risk since the procedure may do more harm than good. If colonoscopy cannot be avoided in a senior’s case then at least consider the method as a cure—something like a last resort, not as simple screening procedure that it usually is.

When doing a colonoscopy, it is best to assess the patient’s current health status first. It should be determined if he would be able to recover fast after the procedure with no apparent complications and unexpected reactions that will only make a senior’s life even harder. For seniors and caregivers, seek second opinion as you deem fit.