A colonoscopy helps prevent or detect cancer by identifying polyps before they turn into cancer. If you're age 45 or older, you can call GastroIntestinal Specialists to schedule your colonoscopy without a referral. Although many people hesitate about the preparation process, many patients have admitted that it was not as bad as they expected.

Transcript

Dr. LaBarre:

The role of a screening colonoscopy is to prevent colon cancer and detect early colon cancer.

Dr. Dies:

We can catch it before it’s cancer when it’s just in a polyp stage, and that person is cured completely. They don’t need any surgery. We’ve interrupted the life cycle of the cancer. Someone with no symptoms whatsoever once they turn 45, you need to call. We make it easy because we do not require any referral. You just call us, and say this is my age. We see you regardless of a referral. Particularly for young people, we don’t even require an office visit. You just call, and we schedule the colonoscopy directly. We try to keep you at work or keep you at your job.

Dr. LaBarre:

The main thing that people, I get told, is that they don’t want to undergo the bowel preparation or drinking that liquid. To those people I say, you know, we try to find the best situation for that person … the most tolerable. It may be the toughest part of it, but in the end, most people finish their colonoscopy procedure, and say ‘it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I would definitely do it again.’ The other main source of apprehension that I hear is the discomfort or potential embarrassment of undergoing a colonoscopy. You know, I really try to impress upon them that you’re asleep for the procedure. You’re surrounded by only a few professionals in the room, and we all have the same goal in mind. That’s to keep you cancer-free and as comfortable as possible. We, at the end of the day, are trying to take care of you: the patient.