Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Are colonoscopies worth it?

asteriskmag.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 296 posts

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#131

Post by [deleted] »

kuboble wrote: post #117
hackandthink wrote: post #64

This is about people between 55 and 64 years old at the start of the study. After 10 years: The risk of getting colorectal cancer is about 1%. The risk of dying because of colorectal cancer is about 0.3%. Getting an invitation the study does not change much. Actually getting a colonoscopy helps more (37% reduction in getting the cancer, no data for dying).

If you read the article thoroughly it explains exactly why your reasoning is incorrect. Tldr; comparing control group to acceptors group is not right because who accepts and who doesn't isn't random. We don't know the exact bias introduced but the author theorizes that people who are at higher risk are more likely to accept the invitation(e.g. someone with a colon cancer in family, someone having weird feeling about…

[deleted]

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#132

Post by s1artibartfast »

kqr2 wrote: post #105
s1artibartfast wrote: post #92

People struggle with binaries. It is very likely that regular colonoscopies are net harmful for most people, and very beneficial for some. The population isnt homogeneous. Some people have significant risk factors, like family history, others do not. We don't ask if everyone should start wearing glasses at 40, so why this?

But people with healthcare / vision care usually have their eyes checked yearly.

Yes, but eye exams don’t carry a risk of death. It is a noninterventional screening. It is more like a stool sample or questionnaire than a colonoscopy

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#133

Post by ramraj07 »

hermitcrab wrote: post #120

>3. It’s irresponsible to call colonoscopies “invasive” (as CNN did) since that might make people think they are unpleasant and not do them. LOL. It hard to imagine anything much more invasive than having a metal tube (with light and camera) shoved up your arse. It is definitely unpleasant. I speak from personal experience. That said, it is less unpleasant than bowel cancer. So don't be put off if you really need to…

It is invasive, as are most gynecological procedures. It sounds disingenuous to try and sugar coat this. My female acquaintances have long been lamenting the trauma of gynecologists especially in India telling them “please get a scan in the next room it’s a simple procedure” only to get a probing that’s not just invasive but even painful at times.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#134

Post by ramraj07 »

surfsvammel wrote: post #106

I do regular colonoscopies because of a condition. People are worried about the procedure, as I was my first times. Here are some things that I wish someone had told me: - Taking the meds for cleaning out your system the day before is far worse than the procedure itself. - Have a lollipop to stick in your mouth after Each time you take a shot of the laxatives. It helps with the vile taste of it. - If you need relaxin…

M&Ms work better. Just take a mouthful, chew a bit, and swallow, and then take another mouthful.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#135

Post by hackandthink »

hackandthink wrote: post #123
ekianjo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Data does not seem to indicate better survival odds so whats the point?

There would be an reduction of 37% in diagnoses if everyone would have accepted the treatment (but no data for mortality). How significant is reducing a small risk (1%) significantly? (Base rate fallacy) "The right graph compares those results to the observed outcomes for acceptors in our branch of the multiverse, where they did have colonoscopies. At the end of the trial, there’s a reduction of 37%. Unfortunately, d…

https://asteriskmag.com/media/pages/issues/04/you-re-invited...

Actually I am confused by this graph (right side):

1% of refusers are diagnosed with CRC

versus

1.4% of would be acceptors would be diagnosed with CRC.

So refusing is better than accepting.

I guess I am missing something.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#136

Post by vladvasiliu »

b800h wrote: post #129
vladvasiliu wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I learned to skip past the general doctors to the specialist from this experience. What concerns is that where I live, it's my understanding that, with a few exceptions [0], you can't skip a GP and go directly to a specialist. And I'm not convinced that GPs here are any better than in the US or elsewhere. Bonus points for large parts of the country not even having enough GPs for their population. --- [0] You can go…

If you're in the UK (you used "GP", so I'm guessing), then you absolutely can. Just go private. ( https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-... ). Don't bother with the NHS, it's a carwreck. See this, for example: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67239548 Last month, after years of waiting, I got a letter again delaying my assessment for a growth on my neck, for the foreseeable future. It's a good…

I'm in France, I used GP since that's the term that seems to be used in the Anglosphere. It also seems like a reasonable translation of the French term – médecin généraliste.

I'm hearing bad things about UK's NHS, and while I don't have any firsthand experience with it, I do get the feeling that the French system is going down the same path.

It's true that I don't usually think about going the private route. I'm not 100% sure, but I think you can probably see a private specialist directly. I also don't know how much it would cost, but probably quite a lot, given the prices in the public hospitals, and I don't think it's covered by the insurance, even though I carry insurance above the standard national scheme.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#137

Post by dkarras »

hermitcrab wrote: post #120

>3. It’s irresponsible to call colonoscopies “invasive” (as CNN did) since that might make people think they are unpleasant and not do them. LOL. It hard to imagine anything much more invasive than having a metal tube (with light and camera) shoved up your arse. It is definitely unpleasant. I speak from personal experience. That said, it is less unpleasant than bowel cancer. So don't be put off if you really need to…

I have not had one but closely monitored people that had a colonoscopy. The prep looks like worse than the colonoscopy itself.

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#138

Post by silisili »

methou wrote: post #40

My uncle had one, it almost killed him when the probe breached his colon causing an internal bleeding. It was done with anesthesia, which according to him could be a major contributor to the incident.

This is actually what killed my grandmother back in the 80s, for the same reason. I'd hoped they'd be safer by now...

Re: Are colonoscopies worth it?

#140

Post by theogravity »

I just got one two days ago because my family has a history of it. Other than having to go on a no fiber diet and ingesting specific sets of salts to empty the bowel for the procedure, it was pretty in and out, and no pain at all afterwords (probably because they didn't find any polyps). I went home with neat pictures of my clean colon.

Also lost 10 lbs in the past week but already seemed to have gained back a little in the past two days from eating normally again.

Post reply on HN