Why Your Colonoscopy Can’t Wait
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/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2021

Why Your Colonoscopy Can’t Wait

When COVID-19 made its first appearance in Bennington, many people put off their regularly scheduled care out of fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 at the hospital. While the fear was understandable, it was ultimately unfounded. No transmissions of COVID-19 occurred to patients that we are aware. In honor of National Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March, we’d like to encourage you to resume your regular screenings, especially your colonoscopy. Here are our top 10 reasons for talking to your doctor about colon cancer screening today.

  1. Early colorectal cancer often has no symptoms, which is why screening is so important.
  2. Colorectal cancer is pretty common. Approximately 4.6 percent of men (1 in 22) and 4.2 percent of women (1 in 24) will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime.
  3. Most people have at least one risk factor for colorectal cancer. Risk is greatest among those with a family history of colon cancer, older people, men, and African Americans. Other risk factors include behaviors traditionally associated with high-income countries: sedentary lifestyle, Western diet, and smoking. Nobody is at zero risk.
  4. There are lots of screening tests available for colon cancer. For people of average risk, most doctors recommend a stool test every year, a stool DNA test every 3 years, and a colonoscopy every 10 years.
  5. While a colonoscopy is an invasive test, it is especially effective at detecting colon cancer. It’s so effective that if the majority of people in the United States age 50 or older were screened regularly for colorectal cancer, the death rate from this disease could plummet by up to 70 percent.
  6. Polyps and lesions that can turn into cancer can be removed during a colonoscopy. Let’s ponder that idea for a moment. What if your mammogram or prostate exam actually prevented cancer? You would be absolutely certain to schedule it as often as it was recommended!
  7. Insurers understand how powerful colonoscopies are. They cover them, because they work. It’s far better business to pay for one colonoscopy every 10 years than for 10 years of colorectal cancer treatment. For those who are insured, your colonoscopy is probably free. Note, if a polyp is removed, your insurance may cover it differently than a screening.
  8. The doctors and nurses make the experience of having a colonoscopy as comfortable as possible. You can choose from a number of different anesthesia methods based on your own comfort level and insurance coverage.
  9. Lots of safeguards help make receiving a test or treatment at the hospital as safe as can be. Among them, hospital staff are fully vaccinated, which lowers the risk of spread. Many community members are also vaccinated at this time. We screen for COVID-19 before the procedure. We encourage you to wait in your car, using our virtual waiting room, rather than sitting in the waiting room. And finally, all patients are masked, and staff wear masks and additional protection to keep you and themselves safe.
  10. There’s a lot of satisfaction and peace of mind that comes with taking all of the preventive steps you can and increasing your odds of living a healthier and longer life.

Talk to your doctor about your personal and family history and about when you should have your colonoscopy. Then schedule it, prepare for it as directed, and walk into your colonoscopy appointment knowing that you are making great use of your time and effort. 

David Furman, MD, is a gastroenterologist with SVMC Gastroenterology, part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Health Care, in Bennington. This column was written as a part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s observance of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, which is celebrated each March. For answers to questions about colorectal cancer screening, call 802-447-5551.

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Emergency Department: Open, Ready, Safe. 

The last 3 months have been a uniquely challenging experience in the SVMC Emergency Department (ED) and emergency departments and hospitals all over the country and the world. I am very proud of all our staff has done and continues to do to ensure safe care for patients during this era of COVID-19. We are grateful that cases of COVID-19 in our area have been the lowest in the U.S. and have decreased even further over the past several weeks. We are also heartened to see that patients who had been avoiding the ED are now confident to return to get the care they need.

It may be surprising to hear that over the past few months, the sickest patients we have seen in the ER have not had COVID-19. Many people have refrained from seeking care for serious medical problems due to the fear of being exposed to the virus, assuming that the hospital was not a safe place to be and not recognizing the seriousness of their symptoms. The most challenging moments of the past several months have involved critically ill patients who tried to stay away for far too long due to fear of being exposed to COVID-19. We have had many sad moments trying to care for those who waited until it was too late for us to help with conditions that could have been easily treated if presented sooner.

One might expect that the greatest challenges related to the pandemic were those needed to adapt our facilities and procedures and the work of caring for sick COVID-19 patients. SVMC is fortunate to have built a strong foundation of safety and infection-prevention methods over many years, which made this transition much easier. Still, when it became apparent that we were going to see COVID-19 cases coming through our doors, we implemented many COVID-specific changes very quickly.

From day one our staff have all been fully trained to use protective equipment effectively, to focus on cleaning and disinfecting, and to move patients safely through the new areas created to keep them safe. We also spaced the waiting room chairs to allow for plenty of distance and initiated drive-by testing to keep potentially contagious people outside and away from other patients.

We immediately increased our standard of protective equipment we use. For example, all staff who relate with patients now wear both a mask and protective shield, which is a proven and effective strategy to prevent transmission. Those staff who work with patients with respiratory or other contagious symptoms also wear a gown and advanced respirators developed in cooperation with Mack Molding in Arlington. They look strange, but they help us deliver care safely.

We also quickly built special spaces and units in the hospital to treat and segregate patients with respiratory symptoms who might be contagious from those with other routine medical problems. Outpatients with symptoms that could be related to COVID-19 are directed to a spacious area called the Respiratory Evaluation Center. There they can be taken to a safe treatment space called a negative-pressure room without encountering any patients who are using the ED for other reasons or any staff who are not fully equipped with protective gear. There are similar, safe, negative-pressure units for those who require treatment in the ED or hospital.

Our hard work paid off. We have treated a number of COVID-19 patients in our ED and, as far as we know, not a single staff member was sickened in relation to their work here, and no patients have contracted COVID-19 while under our care. With our current procedures and drastically declining COVID numbers, we are confident that we can continue that trend. Furthermore, SVMC recently received a perfect score on a rigorous survey specifically designed to judge our ability to prevent transmission of COVID-19. At this time our ED is safer than just about any other public place you could go.

My goal in writing today is to communicate that SVMC’s Emergency Department is open, ready, and safe. If you need emergency care, we are here and we can care for you safely. Please do not defer emergency care until it is too late for us to help. While many symptoms can represent a serious medical problem, the most concerning are chest pain, difficulty breathing, fast heart rate, confusion, high fever, intense headache, drooping face, dehydration, or weakness. Of course, with any other symptom you feel indicates a serious problem, come in right away or call 9-1-1.

For us, spending time with patients and connecting on a personal level is the best part of our jobs. We take pride in our life-saving role in our communities and the work we have been able to do during the pandemic, but we cannot help if you do not come in. Please don’t hesitate to get the care you need when you need it.

Adam Cohen, MD, is a board-certified emergency medicine physician at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. He also serves as the chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and the medical director of SVMC’s Emergency Department.

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