COLONOSCOPY DANGERS

by Dr. Lawrence Wilson

All information in this article is the opinion of the author and for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment, prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.

Contents

I. Introduction

II. Harmful Effects Of Colonoscopies

III. Alternatives To Colonoscopies

__________________

I. INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION

Colonoscopy is a medical procedure in which an instrument that looks like a long tube is inserted in the rectum. The instrument has a light and a small television camera on the end. It also has a tiny pair of pliars.

The physician uses the instrument to view the walls of the large intestine as it is inserted further and further. He or she can also take samples of any tissue that does not look healthy.

Colonoscopy is done mainly to detect colon cancer. This is the second most common type of cancer among adults in America today, and common in many nations. Conventional physicians in America recommend a colonoscopy for everyone over age 50, once every 10 years.

However …

Did you know that 1 of every 350 colonoscopies causes severe health problems, and 1 of every 1000 colonoscopies causes death? This translates into 15,000 deaths from colonoscopy procedures each year in the USA alone. These statistics should make anyone pause before getting this procedure.

A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE AND APPROACH

Physicians are trained that if one cannot find cancer or other disease in the colon, the person is declared “healthy”.

We have a completely different attitude, based upon 45 years of experience:

1. We believe that most adults today are unhealthy. Most are “diseases waiting to happen”. This means their health is quite delicate and poor.

2. Most all colons are diseased. This has been proven in studies. Many people have at least a little colon cancer, whether or not a physician can detect the cancer.

We don't recommend waiting until your colon cancer is so large that it can be found easily or it bleeds.

3. Instead, we suggest that everyone immediately begin a total healing program with diet, lifestyle, supplements and healing procedures to improve overall health as well as the health of the colon.

For most all colon problems, we strongly suggest daily coffee enemas. We find these are extremely safe and effective for healing infections and many other problems in the colon. For details, read Coffee Enemas.

II. HARMFUL EFFECTS OF COLONOSCOPIES

These are:

1. Infection from improperly sterilized colonoscopy tubes. Some say that up to 80% of the colonoscopy tubes are not properly sterilized. This is the main danger. Other problems are less common:

2. Perforation of the colon.

3. Harm from the anesthesia.

4. Intestinal problems from flushing out the colon for the procedure.

5. False positive and false negative results. A false positive occurs when the doctor says you have colon cancer, but you really do not. This causes unnecessary stress, expense and harm from the use of toxic chemotherapy drugs, surgery and/or radiation that is not really needed.

A false negative means that the test missed a cancer. This is certainly possible, especially if the cancer is small, embedded in the wall of the colon, or otherwise difficult to see.

III. ALTERNATIVES TO COLONOSCOPIES

1. Fecal blood test. One can test oneself for blood in the stool with a simple home test or at the doctor’s office. This is not considered quite as good to detect cancer, but it is simple and non-invasive.

2. Sigmoidoscopy. One can have a simpler and much safer test called a sigmoidoscopy. This procedure is somewhat similar to a colonoscopy but it only checks the last foot or so of the colon. This is where many cancers are.

3. The development program. In our view, the best alternative is to follow a complete development program, including the use of coffee enemas. For details, read Introduction To The Development Program.

If you decide on this alternative, we do not think you need the other tests, based on our research. However, the other alternatives are fairly safe if you want to have them.

Courses | About Dr. Wilson | The Free Basic Program