Much like mammography and Pap smear for breast and cervical cancer screening in women, colonoscopy has been shown to be an effective and safe way to screen for colon and rectal cancer in both men and women.
After cleansing the colon with a strong laxative, a thin, digital camera is passed through the anus and advanced all the way around the entire length of the colon. Precancerous adenomas, otherwise know as polyps, can be safely removed at the time of the procedure. Colonoscopy is usually done with sedation, and is a same day procedure.
Consult your colorectal surgeon, gastroenterologist, or other endoscopist for recommendations about what age to have your first screening colonoscopy, and how frequently you should have follow-up tests.
Click the link below to read about one man's colonoscopy experience:
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article1928847.html