For the uneasy, a new way to prevent cancer

‘Virtual’ colonoscopy offers less-invasive means of checking for disease

Cynthia Bledsoe let her 50th birthday pass without getting the colonoscopy recommended for adults her age. Like many people, she was wary of the procedure that checks for colorectal cancer, and she avoided having it done for nearly four years.

Then last year, she asked her physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital if she could try a “virtual” colonoscopy, which is less invasive than the standard procedure to detect polyps that can lead to colon cancer.

“It was easy and it was painless,” said Bledsoe, now 54 and living in White Hall. “As soon as it was over I became an advocate. As much as I dreaded it, it was a positive experience.”

Colorectal cancer is the second-mostcommon cause of cancer death among cancers that affect both men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 134,000 people will develop colorectal cancer this year and nearly 49,000 will die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. The risk of developing polyps, growths that can turn into cancer, increases with age.

Screening via a colonoscopy helps reduce cases of the disease and lower death rates.

While strides have been made in getting more people tested, many still avoid getting screened. The American College of Radiology and several cancer prevention groups think that more people like Bledsoe, who are turned off by the thought of getting a colonoscopy, could be persuaded to get tested if given the choice of a virtual colonoscopy.

They’re pushing Medicare, the federal health insurance plan for the elderly, to cover the procedure, which is now out of reach for the millions of people who get their coverage through the program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which would make the decision, is reviewing the request.

“The hope is that offering patients this option will only help to increase screening rates in this country,” said Dr. Judy Yee, chair of the American College of Radiology’s Colon Cancer Committee.

Traditional colonoscopies require a patient to drink a solution a day before the procedure that cleans out the large intestine. The procedure involves a doctor, typically a gastroenterologist, inserting a long, flexible tube with a camera on the end through the rectum into the colon, or large intestine. Patients are sedated because the procedure can cause discomfort, so doctors discourage driving or engaging in strenuous activity after the procedure.

For a virtual colonoscopy, a small flexible tip is placed just into the rectum to inflate the colon so an MRI or CT scanner can be used to look at the colon and rectum. Patients still must clean their systems out but need not be sedated.

Those pushing for greater accessibility to virtual colonoscopy say it is more convenient for patients to have the procedure and be able to continue their daily activities. There is also less chance of tearing or puncturing the colon because a tube isn’t inserted far into the body. The virtual colonoscopy does expose people to radiation, but in small amounts not deemed harmful, doctors said.