MCG Primary Care Physicians Can Fill Gap In Colorectal Screening
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MCG Primary Care Physicians Can Fill Gap In Colorectal...
Properly trained primary care physicians, internists, family medicine physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists and general practioners can peform the test as safely as endoscopists, according to...
Properly trained primary care physicians, internists, family medicine physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists and general practioners can peform the test as safely as endoscopists, according to a study published in the January 12 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine. Count on WJBF News Channel 6’s Renita Crawford for more on screening for colorectal cancer, in this Medical Report.
(Augusta) - As the population ages, there is an increasing need for more doctors to be trained to perform colonoscopies.
Dr. Thad Wilkins, a MCG Family Medicine physician performs the procedure.
“Colon cancer is a preventable cancer if polyps are found, and detected early, through screening test like colonoscopies. Those polyps can be removed and you can prevent colon cancer.”
Usually, gastroenterologists and surgeons perform the procedure, but Wilkins says primary care physicians with the right training can fill the void that currently exists.
Dr. Wilkins: “Our study found that colonoscopies performed by primary care physicians, which we define as family physicians, internists and ob-gyn physicians, were just as safe and effective as performed by other specialists.”
The American Cancer Society recommends beginning regular screening for colorectal cancer at age 50. It is the third most common, and second most fatal, cancer in the United States. Early screening can save lives.
Dr. Wilkins: “Unfortunately, there is a shortage of physicians trained to perform colonoscopy, and if we don’t do something about that shortage, the number of colon cancer cases may continue to rise.”
With slightly more than 12,000 board-certified gastroenterologists, who perform procedures like colonoscopies, the capacity for a national screening program is limited. Resources to screen every eligible person for colorectal cancer do not currently exist in the U.S. medical system and, as a result, less than one-third of those who are eligible for colonoscopies are screened.
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My name is Konstantin Monastyrsky. I am a medical writer and an expert in forensic nutrition. I recently released an investigative report entitled “Death By Colonoscopy” on YouTube and my website. This report is based entirely on mainstream medical research, and is fully referenced (http://www.gutsense.org/crc/crc_transcript.html)
I realize the title of my report sounds bizarre, but before you label me insane, consider the following well-established facts:
—Colonoscopy screening increases mortality from all other causes, research shows. The Telemark Polyp Study I demonstrated a 57% increase in mortality among screened patients vis-ŕ-vis unscreened controls. The decrease in the incidence of colorectal cancers was only… 2%, which, statistically speaking, is below the margin of error.
—According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), since screening colonoscopies started in earnest in 2000, the annual incidence of colorectal cancers has grown by 30,000 new cases, while the mortality rate remained practically unchanged.
—Estimated 55,000 Americans die annually from colon cancer. According to the report entitled “Complications of Colonoscopy in an Integrated Health Care Delivery System” by the Annals of Internal Medicine, an estimated 70,000 (0.5% from 14 million+ screenings) are killed or injured by colonoscopy-related complications. This figure is higher than the total number of annual deaths from colon cancer by 22%.
—The 18 years long Minnesota Colon Cancer Control Study included 46 plus thousand patients between the ages of 50 and 80. It demonstrated only a 0.6% reduction in the incidence of colorectal cancer. Statistically speaking, this difference is even less than the chance outcome of one thousand coin flips.
—According to the Federal Drug Administration, X-ray exposure from a single virtual colonoscopy increases one’s lifetime risk of cancer by 20%. Virtual colonoscopies are now recommended every 5 years. By age 70 one’s risk of developing any other form of cancer grows to 100%. Killing you with another form of cancer before the colon gets affected is one ####-of-the-way to “prevent” colon cancer.
www.GutSense.org
P.S. If you have any questions related to my report, feel free to contact me by e-mail via my site.
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