Colon cancer cases are rising for adults under 50, which is why the American Cancer Society recently lowered the suggested age to begin regular colon cancer screenings from 50 to 45.
“If you were born in the 1990s, you are at increased risk for colorectal cancer, even 50% more likely than people who were born before that time,” said Dr. Rebecca Rhee, Division Chief of Colorectal Surgery at Maimonides Health.
There remains stigma around discussing colon health and getting colonoscopies, but Maimonides doctors are working to dispel myths and help people feel more comfortable with this highly safe and effective procedure.
Dr. Rhee said, “I’ve done it myself. The procedure is absolutely nothing. It’s so brief, you’re comfortable, you feel great when you wake up. The prep is, of course, a little intense, but it’s totally fine. So it’s just really trying to get over that fear.”
And colon cancer is very treatable, especially when it is caught in its early stages through regular screenings. During a colonoscopy, for which you will be asleep, doctors insert a small, flexible tube with a camera attached to it to inspect the inside of your colon. If any abnormalities, such as lesions or polyps, are detected, they can be treated and removed during the same procedure and then sent for testing.
Dr. Julie Yang, Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Gastroenterology program at Maimonides said, “For us as gastroenterologists, our biggest fight, whether it was early onset or not, is to just get people comfortable with the idea that you have to screen for colon cancer. We feel so passionate about it because it is a preventable cancer, versus other cancers where there’s no pre-cancerous or pre-set lesion that we can follow that’s predictable.”
Like Dr. Rhee, Dr. Yang wants people to know colonoscopies are not as scary as you might think. “We’re just here to dispel the rumors that it’s not as horrifying as people think; it’s not like a horror show movie. It’s very easily done,” she said.
Learn more about gastroenterology and colon cancer care at Maimonides, and read more from the Brooklyn Paper.
About Maimonides Health
Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, providing more than 1 million patient visits each year through the system’s three hospitals, 1,800+ physicians, and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. Our system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties; Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical–surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center.
Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including our Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. For additional information, please visit www.maimo.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.