Aspirin Can Fully Replace Your Annual Colonoscopy

[haidut]

Annual colonoscopies are becoming the norm for people over 50, and especially ones with previously extracted polyps. The colonoscopies are used to examine the health of the colonic wall, look for polyps, remove polyps if any are found, and sometimes even perform ablation procedures if there is a so-called carcinoma in situ. Well, this new study says that there is a way to avoid all this painful, expensive, and potentially dangerous hassle. The new study says that taking aspirin regularly will be just as affective as the annual colonoscopy in preventing cancer from developing or reducing mortality from the actual cancer. In other words, taking aspirin regularly can replace the annual invasive screenings, polyp extraction, and maybe even preventive surgery, and still maintain the same survival benefit as those dangerous, invasive, and expensive procedures. I wonder how many colonoscopy centers are going to close once that news becomes common knowledge...

Aspirin as good as screening for bowel cancer
"...Regular low-dose aspirin is just as effective in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality as FOBT or sigmoidoscopy screening, according to a systematic review."

 

[800mRepeats]

Hmm... So, how effective are FOBT or sigmoidoscopy screening?

 

[haidut]

Hmm... So, how effective are FOBT or sigmoidoscopy screening?

Well, if you google for how much aspirin reduces risk of colon cancer mortality the effectiveness of these procedures should be about the same. I think I saw data somewhere that low dose aspirin lowers colon cancer mortality by 30% when used for a year and by 60%+ when used for 5 years. I don't think the procedures are as effective as the 5-year aspirin use. And given that increasing the aspirin dose provided even more protection, the message should really be "the lowest dose daily aspirin is as effective as the colon screenings, and the higher dose is more effective". Not to mention that you don't have to get sedated, get a tube inserted up your colon, potentially get tissue cut out, get infections, secondary bleeding, etc, etc. It's a no brainer really, and I am not even including the cost factor.

 

[Queequeg]

Exactly right. There is actually evidence that the risk from complications from colonoscopies are higher than the benefits they supposedly provide from early detection. Also its been claimed, that the main reason for the increases in cancer survival is due to a high level of false positives due to increased screening. Also you are more likely to reach the 5 year survival rate only because the clock started earlier due to early detection.
I am with you on the aspirin.

Death by colonoscopy: Side effects of screening

 

[Peato Diet]

What is the 'low dose' used in the study? Is it 75 mg per day?

 

[haidut]

What is the 'low dose' used in the study? Is it 75 mg per day?

It's usually defined as being in the 75mg - 100mg range.

 

[CrystalClear]

Thanks Haidut. ( I wish there was a "thanks" button for posts). :)

 

[Ideonaut]

Annual colonoscopies are becoming the norm for people over 50, and especially ones with previously extracted polyps. The colonoscopies are used to examine the health of the colonic wall, look for polyps, remove polyps if any are found, and sometimes even perform ablation procedures if there is a so-called carcinoma in situ. Well, this new study says that there is a way to avoid all this painful, expensive, and potentially dangerous hassle. The new study says that taking aspirin regularly will be just as affective as the annual colonoscopy in preventing cancer from developing or reducing mortality from the actual cancer. In other words, taking aspirin regularly can replace the annual invasive screenings, polyp extraction, and maybe even preventive surgery, and still maintain the same survival benefit as those dangerous, invasive, and expensive procedures. I wonder how many colonoscopy centers are going to close once that news becomes common knowledge...

Aspirin as good as screening for bowel cancer
"...Regular low-dose aspirin is just as effective in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality as FOBT or sigmoidoscopy screening, according to a systematic review."

What do you think of the FDA recently having come out against regular aspirin use, Haidut (or anyone else)? This Mercola article FDA Reverses Its Position on Daily Aspirin Use says to stay away from aspirin because it is dangerous and "a killer". I put much more credence in Ray's views than krill oil huckster Mercola's, and while I feel I should investigate this closely myself, I'd like to benefit from the reaction of a black belt study evaluator and bull**** detector such as yourself.

 

[lollipop]

What do you think of the FDA recently having come out against regular aspirin use, Haidut (or anyone else)? This Mercola article FDA Reverses Its Position on Daily Aspirin Use says to stay away from aspirin because it is dangerous and "a killer". I put much more credence in Ray's views than krill oil huckster Mercola's, and while I feel I should investigate this closely myself, I'd like to benefit from the reaction of a black belt study evaluator and bull**** detector such as yourself.

Curious as well @haidut especially since I just began a daily experiment (will try for 2 months) of 2 x 325mg tabs...

 

[haidut]

What do you think of the FDA recently having come out against regular aspirin use, Haidut (or anyone else)? This Mercola article FDA Reverses Its Position on Daily Aspirin Use says to stay away from aspirin because it is dangerous and "a killer". I put much more credence in Ray's views than krill oil huckster Mercola's, and while I feel I should investigate this closely myself, I'd like to benefit from the reaction of a black belt study evaluator and bull**** detector such as yourself.

I already posted about that in other threads. Contrary to what FDA pushed as its agenda, clinicians think otherwise and publish studies like this.
The Benefits Of Aspirin Outweigh The Bleeding Risks
GI Bleeding Risks Of Aspirin Are Grossly Overstated

Ultimately, health care costs have to be ruled in and if aspirin has the potential to prevent/cure most diseases then the FDA will probably silently reverse its position, just like it did recently on dietary cholesterol.

 

[haidut]

Curious as well @haidut especially since I just began a daily experiment (will try for 2 months) of 2 x 325mg tabs...

See my response to the Ideonaut comment.

 

[x-ray peat]

I think we all know but just to repeat for anyone reading, RP said that dissolving the aspirin in water first should take care of any stomach bleeding issues

 

[lollipop]

See my response to the Ideonaut comment.

Thanks @haidut, whew...

 

[Phoenix]

For a colon cancer survivor of 10 years and one who is now currently confronting prostate cancer, what is a suggested daily dose of aspirin?

 

[mrchibbs]

For a colon cancer survivor of 10 years and one who is now currently confronting prostate cancer, what is a suggested daily dose of aspirin?

Not sure how you've been doing since this post, but the ceiling on aspirin in your situation can be pretty high, in the order of grams. Of course vitamin K and other factors have to be taken into account.

 

[LucyL]

The article isn't at the link anymore Is there another link to it?

 

[LucyL]

Found one -
the comparative effectiveness of aspirin vs. screening for colorectal cancer prevention.