The thing about it, Katmar, is that if they find any blood in the stool, they have to do a colonoscopy anyway and remove any polyps. And they also need to check for other things, like diverticulitis or ulcers or other conditions.
Colon cancer is only one concern, albeit a big one. It's a common killer. This procedure is OK because in many cases they remove the polyps at the same time as they're doing the text. It's a 1-2 punch...one process, and fix-at-the-same-time.
IDK why it made you ill. That's surprising.
IF they find blood, they can do other tests BEFORE a colonoscopy, and, that's an IF they find blood. CT scans can check for diverticulosis, ulcers (also endoscopes) and most intestinal disorders. CT can even show cancer of the intestines. It made me ill because they almost perforated my intestine, (which is a risk, so shouldn't be surprising) had an infection, pain, nausea, and was quite possibly the start of my severe anxiety. I'm not saying NOT to get one. Just saying there are other ways. The research is there. Just have to look. I would NOT try to talk anyone out of one, though, Atty. It's just not for me. And I DO believe that people with a family history probably, and I will only say probably, should have one every so often. That's my story. Agree to disagree, my friend...
Also, it's NOT OK. It's an invasive procedure, with anesthesia AND pain meds by IV. I'm all for the most conservative measures FIRST and foremost! If you look at the percentages, you will see that not that many more cancers are found than with using less invasive testing.
