As #ColonCancerAwarenessMonth comes to a close, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind the SurvivorNet family just how important colon cancer screening is. We asked Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon and Weill-Cornell Medical Center, to dispel some common myths about colon cancer and screening. Here’s a round-up of what she had to say.
Myth #1: At-home tests are just as effective as colonoscopies at detecting cancer.
Read MoreMyth #3: Colonoscopies are difficult and have side effects
The verdict: False. “Most of the time you come into the hospital, you’re there for about 1 to 2 hours,” Dr. Yeo says. “You get a little bit of sedation … and you wake up. You may be a little gas-ey after that … but in general people feel pretty good and can go right back to eating.”
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