Sharon & Ozzy
- Sharon Osbourne, 68, shares she was pleased with Ozzy’s Valentine’s Day efforts this week, which included giant hearts made of roses.
- Sharon was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002 and underwent chemo to treat her disease.
- Starting at age 45, people should start screening for colon cancer, via colonoscopy, which looks for polyps on the colon.
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Sharon’s Colon Cancer Journey
Sharon was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002. And husband Ozzy was at her side as she battled the disease, and cheered her up in small ways during that challenging time. She underwent three months of chemotherapy to treat her disease, and it was effective. Now, Sharon is cancer-free today, and her energy for life after cancer is so inspiring.
Related: When Colon Cancer Comes Back: Understanding the Options
Chemotherapy, which Sharon had, is one of several methods used to treat this disease. Other colon cancer treatments include radiation and surgery. “If colon cancer is caught before it spreads outside of the colon (stage one or stage two), the cancer can sometimes be cured with surgery,” Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, explains in an earlier interview. “It is important to continue to follow up with your doctor even if your cancer is cured to make sure that it doesn't come back,” he says.
Monitoring After Surgery for Colon Cancer
Colon Cancer Screenings
Colon cancer is typically detected via colonoscopy. Dr. Zuri Murrell explains in an earlier interview that during a colonoscopy, the doctor is looking for polyps, which can turn into cancer. He explains the process, saying, "People often ask me, what do you do when you have a colonoscopy? What's done? Do you do biopsies? So a colonoscopy can be done for many things. But when we're looking at a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, what we do is we're looking for polyps, which are these small growths."
"When we see a polyp, we actually physically take the polyp out through the colonoscope,” says Dr. Murrell. “What does that mean? That means we basically put a wire through with a little bit of a little flange at the end and we pull the polyp out. Now, note there is no pain with that. Inside the colon, there are no pain fibers.So there's no pain. What happens is then when we take the polyp out, we send that to a lab. In about five to 10 business days, we get the results back."
The American Cancer Society recommends that beginning at age 45, patients undergo a colonoscopy every 10 years. However, more frequent colonoscopies are recommended if a polyp is found during the screening.
Looking for Polyps During Colonoscopy
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