Back to the RadioSpace™ home page
NewsDirect story topics:
Consumer, Business & General Interest
Current Events & Public Affairs
Entertainment & Sports
Health & Medicine
The Effectiveness of a Colonoscopy Is Determined by whether the Cancer Develops on the Left or the Right
Fully produced report in MP3 format:
48 kbps |
96 kbps
(76 seconds)
-- How Will You Use This Story? --
(OPEN):
COLON CANCER IS THE SECOND-LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH DUE TO CANCER IN THE
UNITED STATES. AND, COLONOSCOPY IS CONSIDERED THE GOLD-STANDARD
FOR EVALUATION OF THE COLON. BUT, A NEW STUDY--PUBLISHED IN
"ANNALS OF INTERNAL MEDICINE"--FOUND THAT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A
COLONOSCOPY IS DETERMINED BY WHETHER THE CANCER DEVELOPS ON THE LEFT OR
THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE COLON. STUDY AUTHOR, DOCTOR NANCY
BAXTER, EXPLAINS...
(BAXTER):
"WHAT WE FOUND WAS [THAT] THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLONOSCOPY WAS
COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FOR THE LEFT SIDE AND THE RIGHT SIDE: IT WAS
HIGHLY EFFECTIVE FOR PREVENTING LEFT-SIDED COLON-CANCER DEATHS, BUT
DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE EFFECTIVE, AT ALL, FOR PREVENTING RIGHT-SIDED
COLON-CANCER DEATHS--WHICH WAS A VERY SURPRISING FINDING."
(BRIDGE):
EDITORIAL WRITER, DOCTOR DAVID RANSOHOFF ["RAN-SO-HOFF"],
ADDS...
(RANSOHOFF):
"THE MAIN MESSAGE IS THAT WE NEED TO THINK HARD ABOUT WHAT THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF COLONOSCOPY SCREENING IS: IT'S PROBABLY NOT
90-PERCENT, AND IS MORE LIKELY TO BE 60- OR 70-PERCENT. AND, WE
SHOULD BE CAREFUL AND THOUGHTFUL, ABOUT WHAT WE TELL OUR PATIENTS."
(CLOSE):
RESEARCHERS POINT OUT THAT--EVEN AT 60-PERCENT--THE REDUCTION IN CANCER
DEATHS IS STILL SIGNIFICANT. HOWEVER, COLONOSCOPY IS NOT A PERFECT
TEST: EVEN PATIENTS WHO HAVE HAD A PRIOR COLONOSCOPY WITH NO
ABNORMALITIES SHOULD REPORT TO THEIR PHYSICIAN ANY UNUSUAL BOWEL
SYMPTOMS--SUCH AS BLOOD IN THE STOOL. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
"ANNALS"-DOT-ORG.
