Colonoscopy: It's Not So Bad!

As Steve Ehrlich Found Out, Preparation Is The Worst Part

(CBS)  Steve Ehrlich just made an important decision that could save his life. The Early Show was there while he was getting ready to have his first colonoscopy.

"I think it's fabulous," his wife, Leslie Harwood Ehrlich, told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

"I think it's good because we have to make sure that he's healthy and doesn't have cancer," said his daughter, Laura Ehrlich.

Preparing for a colonoscopy involves drinking a full gallon of not-so-great tasting liquid to cleanse the colon.

"People tell me what I'm doing now is the toughest part," Steve Ehrlich said. "So now that I am 22 minutes into the process I don't find it difficult. We'll see what the next several hours brings."

"Steve is one of my favorite types of patients that I see in my office because he came in and he said I'm healthy, I want you to keep me healthy," said Dr. Mark Pochapin, director of the Jay Monahan Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Not many people know when they should get their first colonoscopy.

"The general age is 50 for the first colonoscopy but if there's a family history of colon cancer or related cancers like ovarian or uterine cancer you should start at age 40 or 10 years younger than the earliest family member who had that cancer," Dr. Pochapin said.

After a good night's sleep, Ehrlich said that he is ready to go.

"You never go wrong doing something good," he said. "This is good for me. This is good for everybody to see and hopefully everybody will benefit from that as well."

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Click here to take a colon cancer quiz.

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A colonoscopy certainly sounds difficult and uncomfortable and many people are afraid of it. But Dr. Pochapin said the patient is placed under sedation so he is comfortable and then a long, thin tube with a tiny camera and light are guided through the rectum and colon.

"I think this view is spectacular," Dr. Pochapin said while he examined Ehrlich. "It really shows you the natural beauty. You can see how comfortable the patient is. That's the best part. The patient really gets to relax."

Screening is important because even if you don't have any symptoms, you can still have colon cancer.

"One of the big myths is that if you feel well you are well," Dr. Pochapin said. "That's not true with colon cancer."

During a colonoscopy the doctor checks for small growths called polyps, cancer or other abnormalities.

"You can see I keep going up and around looking behind every fold every nook and cranny of the colon really to make sure there's nothing hiding," Dr. Pochapin said.

But even if the doctor finds a polyp, that does not mean the patient has colon cancer.

"This is very important," Dr. Pochapin said. "If you find out you have a polyp that does not mean that that polyp was going to turn cancerous nor has cancer in it. It means it had the possibility. So if I find something even an early cancer, I actually tell the patients 'good news because we got it early.' This is something we can cure."

As it turned out, Ehrlich's colonoscopy painted the most beautiful pictures.

"Steve, it was perfectly healthy. Couldn't have been any healthier," Dr. Pochapin said. "No polyps. No diverticulosis. Nothing. A picture of health."

For more information on colon cancer check out these sites:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Colorectal Cancer Page

The CDC's Screening Demonstration Program

EIF's Colorectal Cancer Legislation report card

The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

The American College of Gastroenterology

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Add a Comment See all 13 Comments

by naber1961 March 15, 2007 10:22 AM PDT

The guy is right. The horrible stuff you have to drink is like dish water..... They add flavors, cherry, citrus, etc. but it doesnt help. It does however, cleanse very well LOL
the colonoscopy is minor, compared to dring that ***.

Reply to this comment

by sbbherve March 15, 2007 10:35 AM PDT

I have had Colon Cancer since 1996. I was diag. at age 36yrs. I have had 8 procedures since than.
I have carcinoid colon cancer, which means it travels. I have had chemo 4x's. The procedure for colon screening is extremly painful for me and many others. To have the Dr. you interveiwed saying"It's not painful"is a lie. 70% of the people I have talked to have told me it is extremly painful. The one's that don't feel anything are usually "lightweights,Cheap dates"
meaning it takes little pain meds. I have been held down screaming in all the procedures.Dr's don't want to give a lot of pain meds. When I saw Katie Curic's colon procedure she was heavily sedated. That is usually not the case in normal procedures
Sincerely,
Stacy Benoist-Herve'

Reply to this comment

by sbbherve March 15, 2007 10:35 AM PDT

I have had Colon Cancer since 1996. I was diag. at age 36yrs. I have had 8 procedures since than.
I have carcinoid colon cancer, which means it travels. I have had chemo 4x's. The procedure for colon screening is extremly painful for me and many others. To have the Dr. you interveiwed saying"It's not painful"is a lie. 70% of the people I have talked to have told me it is extremly painful. The one's that don't feel anything are usually "lightweights,Cheap dates"
meaning it takes little pain meds. I have been held down screaming in all the procedures.Dr's don't want to give a lot of pain meds. When I saw Katie Curic's colon procedure she was heavily sedated. That is usually not the case in normal procedures
Sincerely,
Stacy Benoist-Herve'

Reply to this comment

by snnicholas March 15, 2007 10:38 AM PDT

I've had two colonoscopies so far and both were absolute nightmares! In both cases, I told the doctor (different doctors at Johns Hopkins) that I'm allergic to sulfiting agents which are often used as preservatives in the meds they give you when you have such a procedure. However, they did not do their homework and find drugs that would do just as good a job at sedating me. I was wide awake, felt everything, and it was horrible.

Reply to this comment

by mswolfestock March 15, 2007 10:40 AM PDT

Hey everybody - this is the other side of the coin. If you are healthy, if there isn't any history of cancer in your family, don't waste your time and money on this very inconvenient procedure. I had a colonoscopy last summer; I'm 52 and healthy. There is no history of cancer on either side of my family, although my 80-year-old father had a non-cancerous tumor removed from his colon two years ago. When I told my doctor about my dad, she went into a panic and said that I had to have a colonoscopy ASAP. They made me quit taking my joint care product (glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM) and my herbal supplement seven days before the procedure. They said "we don't know what's in your herbal supplement - it might make you bleed and react to the anesthesia." By the day of the procedure I wasn't feeling so hot because of going without my supplements. I was also a basket case because I couldn't have any coffee and I had to be at the hospital at 6:00am. I tolerated the procedure, it is painless, they are right about that part and of course the doctor said I was fine, no problems. I ran into trouble when I tried to start eating again - my entire digestive system shut down in response to the colonoscopy, and I had huge problems for the next two weeks. I lost a total of three days of work on top of the day of the procedure. Then to add insult to injury, I had to pay $200 that my insurance refused to pay. This is like every other consumer-related issue - BUYER BEWARE.

Reply to this comment

by godofredo29 March 15, 2007 10:49 AM PDT

Colonoscopies remind me of cytoscopies, or cystoscopies, where the doctor forces a probe up the urethra in order to examine the bladder. You're told that the discomfort will be minor and you have to ask to be given a general anesthesia. The procedure is excrutiating and sometimes takes a week for you to recover.

Reply to this comment

by uwishunu36 March 15, 2007 10:57 AM PDT

to all those that think screen is not needed i am a 37 year old male and 2 years ago i was at work just thought i had the flu i continued to work all day bay the end of the day the pain in my gut was unbearable so i wnet to the hospital after a number of teat the determined i had a upper sigmoid colon rupture they operated it turn out to be colon cancer stage IIIc i had no family history of colon cancer and no symtoms leading up to this so i urge everyone no matter what thier age to get screened

Reply to this comment

by martinab1 March 15, 2007 12:09 PM PDT

I had my first colonoscopy 1.5 years ago, the doctor found 9 polyps so I am destined to repeat this every two years until the polyps are non-existant. So with 6 months until the next one, I am already dreading the prep more than the procedure.

Given the alternative and having worked in a cancer clinic, the procedure is not that bad and beats the heck out of not having it done, and finding out that the cancer has gone to other organs. Then you can be in a mess!

Reply to this comment

by rright-2009 March 15, 2007 1:01 PM PDT

I'm keeping count of all the negative republican vs negative democrat articles on this site. So far, it almost 10:1 against republicans. No bias here.

Reply to this comment

by marrofkane March 15, 2007 3:57 PM PDT

It's not bad if you are sedated sufficiently, I was completely knocked out for 2 of my colonoscopies. What WAS very uncomfortable was a sigmoidoscopy, where they don't go in as far, but NO sedation. Severe cramping was felt in that case.

Reply to this comment

by torocaca March 15, 2007 5:39 PM PDT

"...if there isn't any history of cancer in your family, don't waste your time and money on this very inconvenient procedure." Posted by mswolfestock

BAAAAAD ADVICE! Only one polyp was found in my intestine and it was removed during the procedure, through which I slept. If I had ignored the Dr's advice, which I am prone to do, it could have been 5, or 10 or more polyps by the time I made up my own mind to get it done.

Reply to this comment

by jluken March 17, 2007 4:24 PM PDT

to cbs news. while i think that you are trying to get the message out, you are forgetting one very important thing -- the doctor. your readers and listners all need to know that they need a surgeon or someone who specializes in colonoscopys. DO NOT go to your family practitioner or any run of the mill doctor. My father walked in for a routine colonoscopy on Jan 10,2007 and was dead 2 weeks to the day later. He had gone to his regular doctor who told him everything would be fine until that doctor punctured his colon during the procedure. So then it was emergency surgery to go in and repair the colon. Which means cutting about an 8-10 in. incision down his mid-section. There were many things that happened that should not of at that hospital and with the doctors.

Reply to this comment

by jluken March 17, 2007 4:36 PM PDT

To cbs news. While I think that you are trying to get the message out, you are forgetting one very important thing -- the doctor. Your readers and listners all need to know that they need a surgeon or someone who specializes in colonoscopys. DO NOT go to your family practitioner or any run of the mill doctor. My father walked in for a routine colonoscopy on Jan 10,2007 and was dead 2 weeks to the day later. He had gone to his regular doctor who told him everything would be fine until that doctor punctured his colon during the procedure. So then it was emergency surgery to go in and repair the colon. Which meant cutting about an 8-10 in. incision down his mid-section. There were many things that happened that should not of at that hospital and with the doctors. He was 76 years old and was not having any problems at all with his bowels. For those of you older people not having any problems I would strongly urge you to think twice. And if you do have it done please make sure the doctor specializes in colonoscopies. He left a wife and 6 grown children and 14 grandchildren that miss him.

Reply to this comment

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[naber1961]

The guy is right. The horrible stuff you have to drink is like dish water..... They add flavors, cherry, citrus, etc. but it doesnt help. It does however, cleanse very well LOL
the colonoscopy is minor, compared to dring that ***.

[sbbherve]

I have had Colon Cancer since 1996. I was diag. at age 36yrs. I have had 8 procedures since than.
I have carcinoid colon cancer, which means it travels. I have had chemo 4x's. The procedure for colon screening is extremly painful for me and many others. To have the Dr. you interveiwed saying"It's not painful"is a lie. 70% of the people I have talked to have told me it is extremly painful. The one's that don't feel anything are usually "lightweights,Cheap dates"
meaning it takes little pain meds. I have been held down screaming in all the procedures.Dr's don't want to give a lot of pain meds. When I saw Katie Curic's colon procedure she was heavily sedated. That is usually not the case in normal procedures
Sincerely,
Stacy Benoist-Herve'

[sbbherve]

I have had Colon Cancer since 1996. I was diag. at age 36yrs. I have had 8 procedures since than.
I have carcinoid colon cancer, which means it travels. I have had chemo 4x's. The procedure for colon screening is extremly painful for me and many others. To have the Dr. you interveiwed saying"It's not painful"is a lie. 70% of the people I have talked to have told me it is extremly painful. The one's that don't feel anything are usually "lightweights,Cheap dates"
meaning it takes little pain meds. I have been held down screaming in all the procedures.Dr's don't want to give a lot of pain meds. When I saw Katie Curic's colon procedure she was heavily sedated. That is usually not the case in normal procedures
Sincerely,
Stacy Benoist-Herve'

[snnicholas]

I've had two colonoscopies so far and both were absolute nightmares! In both cases, I told the doctor (different doctors at Johns Hopkins) that I'm allergic to sulfiting agents which are often used as preservatives in the meds they give you when you have such a procedure. However, they did not do their homework and find drugs that would do just as good a job at sedating me. I was wide awake, felt everything, and it was horrible.

[mswolfestock]

Hey everybody - this is the other side of the coin. If you are healthy, if there isn't any history of cancer in your family, don't waste your time and money on this very inconvenient procedure. I had a colonoscopy last summer; I'm 52 and healthy. There is no history of cancer on either side of my family, although my 80-year-old father had a non-cancerous tumor removed from his colon two years ago. When I told my doctor about my dad, she went into a panic and said that I had to have a colonoscopy ASAP. They made me quit taking my joint care product (glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM) and my herbal supplement seven days before the procedure. They said "we don't know what's in your herbal supplement - it might make you bleed and react to the anesthesia." By the day of the procedure I wasn't feeling so hot because of going without my supplements. I was also a basket case because I couldn't have any coffee and I had to be at the hospital at 6:00am. I tolerated the procedure, it is painless, they are right about that part and of course the doctor said I was fine, no problems. I ran into trouble when I tried to start eating again - my entire digestive system shut down in response to the colonoscopy, and I had huge problems for the next two weeks. I lost a total of three days of work on top of the day of the procedure. Then to add insult to injury, I had to pay $200 that my insurance refused to pay. This is like every other consumer-related issue - BUYER BEWARE.

[godofredo29]

Colonoscopies remind me of cytoscopies, or cystoscopies, where the doctor forces a probe up the urethra in order to examine the bladder. You're told that the discomfort will be minor and you have to ask to be given a general anesthesia. The procedure is excrutiating and sometimes takes a week for you to recover.

[uwishunu36]

to all those that think screen is not needed i am a 37 year old male and 2 years ago i was at work just thought i had the flu i continued to work all day bay the end of the day the pain in my gut was unbearable so i wnet to the hospital after a number of teat the determined i had a upper sigmoid colon rupture they operated it turn out to be colon cancer stage IIIc i had no family history of colon cancer and no symtoms leading up to this so i urge everyone no matter what thier age to get screened

[martinab1]

I had my first colonoscopy 1.5 years ago, the doctor found 9 polyps so I am destined to repeat this every two years until the polyps are non-existant. So with 6 months until the next one, I am already dreading the prep more than the procedure.

Given the alternative and having worked in a cancer clinic, the procedure is not that bad and beats the heck out of not having it done, and finding out that the cancer has gone to other organs. Then you can be in a mess!

[rright-2009]

I'm keeping count of all the negative republican vs negative democrat articles on this site. So far, it almost 10:1 against republicans. No bias here.

[marrofkane]

It's not bad if you are sedated sufficiently, I was completely knocked out for 2 of my colonoscopies. What WAS very uncomfortable was a sigmoidoscopy, where they don't go in as far, but NO sedation. Severe cramping was felt in that case.

[torocaca]

"...if there isn't any history of cancer in your family, don't waste your time and money on this very inconvenient procedure." Posted by mswolfestock

BAAAAAD ADVICE! Only one polyp was found in my intestine and it was removed during the procedure, through which I slept. If I had ignored the Dr's advice, which I am prone to do, it could have been 5, or 10 or more polyps by the time I made up my own mind to get it done.

[jluken]

to cbs news. while i think that you are trying to get the message out, you are forgetting one very important thing -- the doctor. your readers and listners all need to know that they need a surgeon or someone who specializes in colonoscopys. DO NOT go to your family practitioner or any run of the mill doctor. My father walked in for a routine colonoscopy on Jan 10,2007 and was dead 2 weeks to the day later. He had gone to his regular doctor who told him everything would be fine until that doctor punctured his colon during the procedure. So then it was emergency surgery to go in and repair the colon. Which means cutting about an 8-10 in. incision down his mid-section. There were many things that happened that should not of at that hospital and with the doctors.

[jluken]

To cbs news. While I think that you are trying to get the message out, you are forgetting one very important thing -- the doctor. Your readers and listners all need to know that they need a surgeon or someone who specializes in colonoscopys. DO NOT go to your family practitioner or any run of the mill doctor. My father walked in for a routine colonoscopy on Jan 10,2007 and was dead 2 weeks to the day later. He had gone to his regular doctor who told him everything would be fine until that doctor punctured his colon during the procedure. So then it was emergency surgery to go in and repair the colon. Which meant cutting about an 8-10 in. incision down his mid-section. There were many things that happened that should not of at that hospital and with the doctors. He was 76 years old and was not having any problems at all with his bowels. For those of you older people not having any problems I would strongly urge you to think twice. And if you do have it done please make sure the doctor specializes in colonoscopies. He left a wife and 6 grown children and 14 grandchildren that miss him.