Who gives a shit?

I read an interesting Medscape Oncology article today. It was a commentary on a 16-year study (comparison) of 21 countries’ approaches to the early detection of colo-rectal cancer (CRC). We’re talking cancer screening programs, of course. I thought it a humorous coincidence that I was reading this item just before collecting and submitting a stool sample to my PCP’s office for just that purpose.

It’s pretty clear that screening programs for CRC actually work. They detect cancer in its earlier stages – even as pre-cancerous lesions (adenomatous polyps) that can typically be removed without surgery. There are many ways to approach screening, and they each make trade-offs of false positive and negative results, costs, risks, and so on.

Here’s the link, in case you want to read the Medscape item. My advice is heed your PCP’s recommendations regarding colonoscopy screening, fecal sample submission, and so on. The frequency and age of starting colonoscopy screenings are typically tailored to perceived risk for CRC (greater if you have a prior history of polyps or colon cancer, a family history of polyps or colon cancer, or certain conditions such as ulcerative colitis that predispose to earlier and/or multi-centric CRC (cancer at more than one site along the colon).

I only mention this because I actually do give a shit.