Mr. Wang, who is over seventy years old, has been troubled lately. He always sighs and sighs. When his wife asks about it, he always stutters.
My wife asked more times, so Mr. Wang had a showdown and simply said it. It turns out that after Mr. Wang defecated recently, he could always see red blood mixed in his excrement, which made him very worried and also worried about his spouse.
My wife felt very sorry and urged him to get a colonoscopy quickly, but Mr. Wang was very resistant to it. He was afraid of spending money and felt embarrassed and scared.
In this tug of war, he dragged on and on until the situation worsened, and Mr. Wang had to go to the hospital for treatment. After the doctor's diagnosis, it was found that Mr. Wang has colorectal cancer! The old couple were both devastated.
Doctors say that feces mixed with blood should be particularly vigilant against colorectal cancer. If Mr. Wang can undergo colonoscopy and other related examinations as soon as symptoms appear, he may be able to detect cancer earlier and the treatment effect will be much better.
Colonoscopy is a common examination item in gastroenterology, but its examination method is special, so many patients resist it, and it can be said that the rejection rate is very high.
What exactly is colonoscopy for? Is it really that scary? Xiao Ai will have a detailed conversation with everyone today.
1, Why are most people unwilling to undergo colonoscopy?
Among all the examination items in the Department of Gastroenterology, there is a terrifying one, which is colonoscopy. This is the "gold standard" for diagnosing colon cancer, but many patients are intimidated by it, unwilling or even extremely afraid to undergo colonoscopy.
Data shows that in China, less than 15% of people aged 50 and above are able to receive colonoscopy. Why aren't people willing to do colonoscopy? There are several main reasons.
1. Neglecting early cancer screening
The incidence rate and mortality of colorectal cancer in China are increasing year by year, but the prevalence of enteroscopy is relatively low. The public has not formed a consciousness of regular physical examinations, and even is unwilling to actively undergo colonoscopy due to the inconvenience.
2. Blind fear
It is rumored that doing colonoscopy is very painful and can harm the intestines, which can be dangerous. People who cannot undergo colonoscopy will naturally listen to rumors, develop biases towards colonoscopy, and develop blind fear.
3. Do not want to drink laxatives
Before colonoscopy, it is necessary to drink laxatives to clean the intestines. The laxatives are salty, astringent, and difficult to swallow, with large doses each time. Patients may experience discomfort such as bloating, nausea, and vomiting, which has become a reason why people refuse colonoscopy.
4. Feeling embarrassed
The so-called colonoscopy is to insert a hose with a probe into the anus to detect the health status of the intestines. Many patients feel embarrassed to take off their pants and find it embarrassing to expose their privacy, so they are unwilling to undergo colonoscopy.
2, How is colonoscopy checked? Why do you need to drink laxatives?
The colonoscope uses a flexible endoscope, with a camera located at the front end of a slender hose. During the examination, the hose is inserted from the anus into the intestinal cavity until it reaches the end of the ileum.
After the colonoscope enters the intestinal cavity, the camera carried by it can transmit the situation inside the intestinal cavity in real-time to the computer in the form of images. Doctors can observe the situation inside the intestine very intuitively, and any small lesions are at a glance.
With the discovery of medical technology, high-end colonoscopes can also be magnified and electronically stained, which is more conducive to early cancer screening.
At present, colonoscopy in clinical practice can be divided into traditional colonoscopy and painless colonoscopy, with certain differences between the two.
Traditional colonoscopy usually involves local anesthesia before examination, so patients may experience discomfort such as nausea and abdominal pain during the examination.
Before painless colonoscopy, anesthesia is usually administered intravenously. Patients fall asleep within ten seconds and can quickly wake up after the examination. The entire examination process lasts for about 15-30 minutes, during which the patient does not feel any discomfort. After the examination, they can rest for half an hour before leaving.
Before colonoscopy, there is also a necessary item, which is to drink laxatives.
The large intestine can store and transport food, but of course, there may also be feces present. Allowing patients to take laxatives is to make their intestines clean, so that during colonoscopy, doctors can observe the condition of the intestinal mucosa more clearly and accurately judge intestinal lesions.
3, One colonoscopy may ensure 5 years of safety, especially for individuals in category 7
In 2020, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine pointed out that a negative and high-quality colonoscopy result was associated with the reduction of the incidence rate and mortality of colorectal cancer, and the duration could reach 17.4 years.
Similarly, a Polish study of 165887 subjects found that, after 17.4 years of follow-up, compared with negative low-quality colorectal cancer subjects, the incidence of colorectal cancer in negative high-quality colorectal cancer subjects decreased by 45%, 46% and 54% respectively in 0-5 years, 5.1-10 years and 10.1-17.6 years.
A study has found that 95% of colorectal cancer is mainly caused by the evolution of intestinal polyps, and it usually takes 5-10 years for intestinal polyps to develop into colorectal cancer. The high incidence age of colorectal cancer is after the age of 55. Therefore, it is recommended to undergo the first colon cancer examination after the age of 40.
