1. I'm shocked to find that Geekbabe is still here, I thought she was long gone with many of the other AT old timers.
2. My dad had colon cancer at age 50 (that's the age they say you should definitely start, whoever you are), and as I'm almost 40 (wtf? how did that happen?) I just got to start my 5 year screenings recently.
I started getting screenings when I turned 50, the first one being a sigmoidoscopy, which doesn't go as far up as a colonoscopy (therefore less thorough). He found a polyp or two and recommended having the full colonoscopy. I believe one of my next procedures found another polyp or two. After a clear screening he said I was OK to go 5 years to the next screening. I since switched from the PPO to an HMO (Kaiser Permanente), and my PCP there told me Kaiser had changed their protocols on colonoscopies to every 10 years. I haven't been very aggressive with Kaiser (everyone tells you you have to be aggressive with them to get decent care!), but since I hadn't been any kind of thorn in their side I figured that if I insisted on having a colonoscopy at ~5 years since my previous they'd relent and let me have it. They did relent, I had one and the gerontologist said she didn't see anything. That was 4.5 years ago. I'm not due for another by my HMO's reckoning for another 5.5 years, but I'm thinking I should again insist on one within a year. Again, I've basically been a plus on their books, had nothing more than an xray in the last few years, a blood test once a year (or less frequently). My father's sister died from colon cancer at 80. My mother's father died from some kind of abdominal cancer, and he was probably in his middle 50's at the time. My PCP said they don't care about that, it would have to be a closer relation for them to take that into account, maybe a parent or sibling I suppose. My history with polyps, plus my PPO gerentologist's protocol subsequent to finding and removing polyps of at least
every 5 years has me thinking that 10 years is just way too long to go without a screening. The prep is a bitch, but it's not that bad, I'd rather have the procedure and not worry. There are people who have colonoscopies very frequently, I've seen posts.
Edit: All the polyps they found in me were benign, but benign polyps are viewed as potentially able to morph into cancerous lesions. That's why they remove them and recommend not waiting too long until your next procedure. Having had polyps it's assumed that you are predisposed to have more in the future. This is my understanding!
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