Claude D'esterno

I wish I had known

There are not many industries that would tolerate a 20 to 25% failure rate. But we are talking about health care and the standard of care is often just not an acceptable standard, unless you are the doctor and getting paid for the procedure but not the outcome.

In normal colonoscopies 20 to 25% of the cancers are missed. Most of these are apparently on the right side of the colon because that side is harder to reach, so it takes more time to do a thorough examination. When I had mine, I was told that “everything is fine and everything is clean.” Yet, within two years, I had stage three colon cancer. Clearly, I was the victim of a "rush job".

Here is what needs to be done.

• Interview your doctor. Ask him how many colonoscopies he does in a day, and how long they take. If he says "ten minutes", maybe you should find another doctor.
  
  
• Ask your doctor if he keeps a video of the colonoscopy. If so, get a copy – it is part of your medical record and keeping our own medical records can save your life. Get assurance he goes into the ileocal valve, signifying a complete colonoscopy.
  
  
• Get a handout or brochure about colon cancer and what the symptoms are. Ask what you should do if you experience those symptoms. Only a properly done colonoscopy can save many people from lots of suffering.
  
  
• Do your own research about doctors and about testing: you could be the next victim of careless doctors. The internet is an amazing consumer tool – it would have made an enormous difference if I had just known.

When I was experiencing stomach pain just one year after my colonoscopy, I informed health professionals that I had recently had a colonoscopy and was told “everything is fine”, and another test was not required for 5-10 years. Consequently, they gave me many other tests, but found nothing. Everyone needs to be made aware of the colonoscopy failure rate. The standard of care may have been met, but we have created a very low bar for our physicians.