Drive-by colonoscopies
I get infuriated when I think of the way the modern medical paradigm is set up. I'd like to ask mainstream medicine if it wouldn't just be kinder to let their patients know upfront that they are going to throw them under the bus. I know, I know-and don't I realize from personal experience that doctors today can be overworked, have to deal with the Big Mean HMOs, blah blah and so on. Is this any reason to side step the Hippocratic oath, replacing it with First, I may do harm, and here's my excuse as to why?
Before you think I've lost it, let me tell you what got my hackles up. A study found that those doctors who didn't take their time performing a colonoscopy-spending less than the recommended six minutes-found a full quarter less of precancerous growths than those who took their time. Looking at thousands of exams performed by a private practice group of 12 doctors, the study concluded that the doctors who spent the most time found 10 times more growths than those who threw their patients on a high-speed conveyor belt.
The whole purpose of a colonoscopy is to screen for polyps, an early indicator of colon cancer. It's a case of prevention is the best medicine: Find it early, treat it early and prevent it from becoming cancer, or at least from getting worse. But if your doctor speeds through the procedure, he may as well sedate you and go take a nap in the corner!
What ticks me off is the thought of how many patients truly dread this test. I worry about some of my own patients, that they'll dread the thought of it so much they will put it off when they have early symptoms, have a high risk due to family history, or when they have reached the age of 50 and it is recommended they use it as a preventive measure. In which case, the least the doctors can do is take their time when their patients come to them, nervous and ready to be sedated for the procedure. I would call it a common courtesy to at least do a good job, considering what's at stake and the anxiety the patient had to work through just to make the appointment.
So, when you go in for your colonoscopy, ask your doctor to take his good sweet time, and not to be in an all-fire rush. You're working on prevention here, and colonoscopies-when performed properly-make good sense.
