Katie Couric's Notebook: Colonoscopy
The colonoscopy is the most effective cancer screening tool available, period. That said, a new study suggests it's not quite perfect. It turns out that the test has a blind spot, like when you're driving, and it may miss some cancers on the right side of the colon.
Video: Doctors once believed the colonoscopy was 90 percent effective at preventing colon cancer deaths. This new research would indicate it's more like 60 or 70 percent effective.
But before you start making excuses, you should listen up: 70 percent is still an amazing track record for any cancer test. Mammograms, for example, are said to be 25 percent effective at preventing deaths from breast cancer. And, there are things you can do to make the colonoscopy more accurate, like follow through with the preparations necessary for the test.
A chance to prevent 70 percent of deaths from colon cancer? I'd say those are odds you can live with.