Patients may dread having a colonoscopy, but study finds they halve risk of colon cancer death

Treated patients had 53% lower risk of dying from colon cancer than would be expected in a similar group in the general population

Procedure involves inserting a tiny camera on a tube through the anus into the large intestine

It is a procedure that is both uncomfortable and embarrassing, but a new study has found patients don't endure colonoscopies in vain.

Removing precancerous growths spotted during the test can cut the risk of dying from colon cancer in half, say researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Doctors have long assumed a benefit, but research hasn't shown before that removing polyps would improve survival - the key measure of any cancer screening's worth.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2105252/Patients-dread-colonoscopies-study-finds-halve-risk-colon-cancer-death.html#ixzz1pZPQOctr