“American Cancer Society” says that the “Colorectal Cancer” has been found the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. and the third most common cancer among men and women in the U.S. mainly above 50 are hit by the disease and it has caused an estimated 73,470 deaths in 2007 and 145,290 new cases have been reported.ACS expresses shock as only one third to one-half of the 70 million people eligible for screening in the U.S. ever get tested.
To mark March as the ‘Colon Cancer Awareness Month’, Detroit-based ‘EBT Heart & Body Imaging Clinic’ has recently introduced “Virtual Colonoscopy”, an advanced test supported by
‘new five-year colon screening guidelines’. It is a procedure that uses CT scanning technology to produce a three-dimensional fly-through of the entire colon with no sedation required. Patients can resume normal activity immediately after the procedure. It is one of the four recommended tests to screen for colon cancer
Dr. Marc Kahn, Medical Director of ‘EBT Heart & Body Imaging’ in Detroit says, “This is a major step forward and will soon provide a clinically proven alternative for millions each year who avoid the unpleasant traditional colonoscopy.” He further adds that by including virtual colonoscopy in the screening procedure can be counted as a new breakthrough in fight against the colon cancer.
The guidelines followed by the ‘American Cancer Society’ have been issued in coordination with the ‘American College of Radiology’ and the ‘U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer’. This special task force (STF) is a group which has representatives from the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. The screening tests have been jointly based on consensus guidelines for colorectal cancer screening, which had made it one of the most acceptable screening tests.
Dr. Kahn further adds that this screening test has over time has proven itself effective enough to be included principally among the routine colon cancer screenings. So the third party payers, physicians and medical societies ought to fasten the reimbursement procedures so that thousands of people could be saved each year waiting for reimbursement of this valuable procedure. However it would take at least a year or two before it is considered to be covered by insurance.
