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An easily overlooked type of abnormality in the colon is the most likely type to turn cancerous, and is more common in this country than previously thought, researchers are reporting. The findings come from a study of colonoscopy, in which a camera-tipped tube is used to examine the lining of the intestine. Generally, doctors search for polyps, abnormal growths that stick out from the lining and can turn into cancer. But another type of growth is much more dangerous, and harder to see because it is flat or depressed and similar in color to healthy tissue. Japanese researchers became concerned...

Dave Barry: A journey into my colon -- and yours OK. You turned 50. You know you're supposed to get a colonoscopy. But you haven't. Here are your reasons: 1. You've been busy. 2. You don't have a history of cancer in your family. 3. You haven't noticed any problems. 4. You don't want a doctor to stick a tube 17,000 feet up your butt. Let's examine these reasons one at a time. No, wait, let's not. Because you and I both know that the only real reason is No. 4. This is natural. The idea of having another human,...

I turned 42 years old yesterday. There are a few ways of looking at this age. A pessimist, of course, would say that I'm already halfway to 84. On the other hand, there is some significance attached to this age. For example: I'm twice as much fun as a 21-year-old; I'm young enough to be naughty and old enough to appreciate it. My age also happens to be the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It isn't so bad. Except maybe when I try to get into/out of my car, chair, bed, etc. and make...

WASHINGTON -- President Bush had five polyps discovered and removed during a routine colon cancer test Saturday, the White House said. They were small and "none appeared worrisome," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters after the colonoscopy, performed at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. Further tests will be conducted on the polyps, he said. At 7:16 a.m. ET Bush, 61, invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to voluntarily transfer his powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney while he was unable to discharge his duties during the colonoscopy procedure. e...

President Bush temporarily will transfer power to Vice President Dick Cheney while Bush has a colonoscopy Saturday.

For years, patients and many doctors assumed that a colonoscopy was a colonoscopy. Patients who had one seldom questioned how well it was done. The expectation was that the doctor conducting the exam would find and cut out any polyps, which are the source of most colon cancer. But a new study, published today in The New England Journal of Medicine, provides a graphic illustration of how wrong that assumption can be, gastroenterologists say. The study, of 12 highly experienced board-certified gastroenterologists in private practice, found some were 10 times better than others at finding adenomas, the polyps that can...

WEDNESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- OsmoPrep tablets (sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate and sodium phosphate dibasic anhydrous) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to cleanse the bowel before a colonoscopy, a test to detect colon cancer. The tablet's maker, Salix Pharmaceuticals, said OsmoPrep had been approved for people 18 and older as an alternative to high-volume liquids taken before the procedure. In a statement, the company cited a Mayo Clinic study's conclusion that unwillingness to take a bowel preparation was "the single largest barrier to colorectal cancer screening." Still, more than 10 million uses of bowel...

I just heard Tony Snow say he has colon cancer.

Because one celebrity colonoscopy just isn't enough, NBC's "Today" show has scheduled its second celebrity colonoscopy for April 2. In so doing, "Today" has effectively cornered the market on celebrity colonoscopies -- a stunning blow to rival "Good Morning America" at ABC News. Having already made a TV star out of Katie Couric's colon in 2000, NBC News has rounded up the colon of jolly weatherman Al Roker for this year's experiment in uncomfortable-making television. But because it's all about Katie, Couric will be with him every step of the way, NBC News assured us in its announcement. Yes, Roker...

Man almost bled to death as a result of a colonoscopy.

TV is the Master of Captain RibMan's Universe:Polyp-Alooza!

By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush ( news - web sites) said he will briefly transfer the powers of the presidency to Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) on Saturday while under sedation for a colon screening. Photos AP Photo For only the second time, the 25th Amendment of the Constitution will be invoked and Cheney will be acting president for "a matter of hours," White House counsel Al Gonzales said after the surprise announcement. Bush, who turns 56 next week, said doctors recommended the procedure — a colonoscopy — because...