Local Doctor Encourages People to Get a Colonoscopy to Prevent Cancer

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Columbia , S.C. (WOLO) — March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. This month doctors are encouraging patients to get a colonoscopy. According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. However, doctors say it does not have to be that way. “Every time I hear someone gets colon cancer it breaks my heart because it was unnecessary, it didn’t have to happen,” said Dr. Stephen Lloyd. Dr. Lloyd says colon cancer is 80% preventable if people get a colonoscopy after turning 50 years old and if they choose the right doctor. “If you go to the right doctor, you will never get colon cancer,” said Dr. Lloyd. Dr. Lloyd explains it’s crucial to know a doctors adenoma detection rate, or ADR. That’s the rate at which doctors find pre-cancerous polyps, or growths in the intestines. He adds a doctor’s ADR should never be below 25. “If the rate at which the doctor finds pre-cancerous polyps is not high then that means they are missing the polyps and you’re still at risk of developing colon cancer,” Dr. Lloyd explains. Using a simulation machine, Dr. Lloyd shows ABC Columbia how they look for polyps. He says it takes nearly 10 years for a polyp to become cancerous, making it easy to prevent colon cancer if patients get screened as recommended, every 10 years. “If we take out all the pre-cancerous polyps, patients should never get colon cancer in the time between tests,” said Dr. Lloyd. Dr. Lloyd says doctors traditionally operate the scope and controls solo, but at Carolina Colonoscopy Center, they take a unique approach working in teams. “What we’ve done is we’ve changed it and we’ve given the nurse this (the scope) and now the doctor has this (the knob controls) and uses both hands so we see twice as much surface, so we give patients 10 times the protection,” explains Dr. Lloyd. On average, Dr. Lloyd says a colonoscopy lasts 30 minutes, sometimes more. That’s time he adds, could be life-saving.