Doctors at Mayo Clinic are staying ahead of cancer without surgery.
A Jacksonville Beach woman removed her polyps at Mayo Clinic before they could turn into cancer, without weeks of recovery.
The colon is about five feet long. It should look clear, but polyps can lead to more polyps that become cancer. However, there’s a way to catch it early.
It’s the success story of Donna Gainer.
Gainer was enjoying life with hiking, biking and eating healthy. So it was a surprise when she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. A routine screening uncovered complex polyps.
“This particular area around colon cancer is almost an entirely preventable cancer,” said Dr. Michael Wallace, who co-leads Mayo Clinic’s Procedural Innovation Team and the Digestive Disease Innovation and Research Program, and he’s part of the team that removes polyps from the colon without surgery for people like Donna, a recent patient.
In Gainer’s case, she didn’t need surgery thanks to medical advancements.
“What’s really changed and Donna’s case really highlights this is we can now remove these very large polyps through a colonoscope procedure without surgery and that avoids all of these issues around colon intersection including colostomy bag and time in the hospital, surgical complications, its really an outpatient,” Gainer said.
Most people recover the same day.
For people like Gainer, she is back to her normal life, cancer-free, thanks to a routine colon screening.
The removal of the polyps is under anesthesia, and most people go home the same day. You can go back to your normal diet in a week or so.
It is recommended that you start getting a colonoscopy at age 45.
If you’re uncomfortable with that, you can opt for an at-home testing kit that can be ordered online or blood tests. Be sure to consult your doctor first.