Colonoscopy fears put to flight

Hospital pulls out stops to coax 10 women to testing

Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 10, 2007 at midnight

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LAFAYETTE - Monica Koenig emerged from a white limo Tuesday morning, smiled at the nurses and said, "Thanks for forcing me to do this. It wasn't going to happen without the push."

"This" was the first-ever colonoscopy for the 52-year-old Boulder woman.

And to make the first time a little easier - and to draw attention to the importance of colonoscopies for those over 50 - Boulder Community Hospital put on the Ritz for Koenig and nine other women Tuesday.

Koenig already was clutching her goodie bag, filled with scented soaps and colonoscopy information.

In a few minutes, she'd be getting her pre-colonoscopy massage from a masseuse.

"I've been putting it off for two years," Koenig said, prior to registering at Gastroenterology of the Rockies, which has a clinic in Boulder Community Hospital's Lafayette campus and was co-sponsor of the promotion.

Without the reminders and without the perks, "I would have postponed it even more."

Most women are faithful about getting their mammograms and pap smears, but only 45 percent are up to date on their colonoscopies, according to the American Cancer Society.

They fear the probe and they hear from their friends about the ordeal of drinking nearly a gallon of flavored liquid the night before to clean out the colon.

"It wasn't that bad," Koenig said.

"They have this new flavor, kind of lemon-limish."

Dr. Joel Montbriand, who performed many of the procedures Tuesday, said there's nothing on the horizon that will replace the night-before liquid-drinking regimen.

Virtual colonoscopies, which don't involve probes, are popular, but aren't as good at detecting small polyps, says the ACS. Besides, if a polyp is detected, a colonoscopy then is needed to recheck and to remove it.

The test itself is a snap, say most people, noting that they're under a partial anesthetic so it's pain-free.

Retesting is recommended every 10 years.

If a pre-cancerous polyp is found, it can be removed before it becomes cancer. If cancer is found early, the survival rate is very good.

The National Cancer Institute says early-stage colon cancer, called Stage I, has a five-year survival rate of 93 percent.

Reached Tuesday afternoon, Koenig said the procedure went well and no polyps or cancer were found.

"In the back of my mind, I was pretty sure everything was fine," she said. "But to get the verification, to know you don't have to worry about it for another 10 years, is very reassuring."

Cancer deaths

Here are the top five cancers that cause death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

• Lung 160,390

• Colon 52,180

• Breast 40,910

• Pancreas 33,370

• Prostate 27,050

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