Let's Talk Colorectal Cancer Screenings
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Talk With A Doc, the show where we bring common questions to medical experts for insight and information. I'm Brendan Hooley, and joining me today are 2 Providence physicians that specialize in gastroenterology, doctor Tonny Lee of Little Company of Mary in Torrance, California, and doctor Eugene Yoon, who practices at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California. They're here to talk about colorectal cancer screenings, what you need to know when it comes to when you should be screened, the different types of screenings, and who should be getting which, along with everything else you need to learn to make comp yourself comfortable when it comes to scheduling your screening. So let's get started.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Hi, Dr. Lee and Dr. Yoon.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Hi, Brendan. It's good to be here. Yeah.
Host: Brendan Hooley:It's great to have you. Doctor Lee, can you tell us a little about yourself, and your work at Providence and what brought you to this field?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Sure, Brandon. And thank you again so much for having me and, really feel privileged to be here. I I grew up in Chicago, went to Northwestern for medical school. I thought I would never leave, but then came out west and did my residency at University of Southern California, met my wife there and also fell in love with SoCal. So stayed in LA for my fellowship at UCLA and, subsequently joined a large private group, private gastroenterology group, in the South Bay and over the years have become, you know, pretty heavily involved with physician leadership and hospital policies.
Dr. Tonny Lee:You know, I was privileged to serve as chief of staff at Providence Little Little Company Mary Hospital in Torrance and currently as a foundation board member. But regarding the digestive health, you know, I'm currently serving as the medical director for GI and Endoscopy Services at Little Company Mary, and along with my good friend here, Doctor. Yoon, as one of the physician advisors, for the Providence Health Division. Really love the field, think, think, gastroenterology is the best field, in medicine. I think it's both, cerebral, and also procedural.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So it offers the opportunity for us to care for our patients on a very intimate individual level. But as well as, the wonderful opportunity to really impact the diverse, impact our diverse population from a public health standpoint, particularly in GI cancer prevention. And certainly from a very personal perspective, you know, my uncle who's a physician, ironically, you know, ignored colon cancer screening and was diagnosed with colon cancer. Fortunately, he's okay and after surgery. So, kind of brings brings it really close to home.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So I'm happy to be here to talk about it. Thank you, Brendan.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Well that's awesome. I I know that we in California are very happy to have you here, although I'm sure you probably missed the pizza in Chicago. Doctor Yoon, you're up. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and and where are you in this field as well?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. Absolutely. Similar to Tony, I, actually did not grow up in Southern California. I grew up in Virginia, actually. I did my undergrad at Johns Hopkins and then medical school at University of Virginia.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:But what led me out to California was actually my wife. I didn't meet my wife here, but she, she came out here for optometry school. So as a good husband, I came out and, did my residency at UC Irvine, and then did my fellowship there as well. So it's been it's been good. And then we we, like Tony, kinda fell in love with this area and decided to stay, and I've been at St.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Jude ever since I graduated from my fellowship. Currently, I also serve as the director for our Digestive Health Institute at St. Jude, and our, endoscopy. It's been good working with the surgeons and working with the whole whole department. Been a pleasure kinda serving.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:A lot of times, patients ask me as well, like, why did you go into this field? And I I struggle with this because I usually give, like, a long boring answer and I I I lose their attention. So usually, I just say, well, somebody has to do it. Right? Somebody has to do GI.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So this is why I I do it. And they they kinda like that answer. Yeah.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. I mean, you do want somebody who's got good skills doing it if they're going to be working with you. Right? Right. So so let's talk about colorectal cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Just how common is this particular form of cancer?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:It's very common. It's actually the, 3rd leading cause of cancer. The second leading cause of cancer death. They estimate, I believe, in American men, 1 out of 23 men in their lifetime will get colon cancer or will develop colon cancer. And I believe the number is 1 out of 26 American women, will also develop colon cancer.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So it's fairly common in this country.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Wow. So what are the risk factors for developing colorectal cancer as an adult?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Yeah. I think that sorry. I think there are multiple risk factors and the risk of, you know, colorectal cancer, is of course influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Age is a major factor. So it's it's relatively uncommon before age 40, and the incidence begins to increase significantly between 40 50.
Dr. Tonny Lee:And so age specific incidence rates increase with, each succeeding, decade thereafter. So that's why, we the age is a factor such that the screening, recommendations are heavily impacted by that.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Wow.
Dr. Tonny Lee:Yeah. That's that's one major factor. And, Jean, do you wanna speak to the other factors as well?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. I mean, they have done some some research on, like, yeah, certain risk factors. A lot of it is genetic. So if you do have a family genetic conditions that that can lead to early onset colon cancer. Other things though, I would say obesity has been, associated with colon cancer risk, the sedentary lifestyle, even some observational studies showing that a lot of consuming a lot of red meat, that can also be associated with, increased risk of colon cancer.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Smoking, alcohol, those are also risk factors for colon cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Wow. I I know you mentioned red meat. That makes me wonder if, like, does a high fiber diet have a sort of opposite effect, like reduce your risk of developing it as you get older?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, Brandon. I think, some of the protective factors, as you mentioned, you know, high fiber diet, I think it's protective. You know, there's some other smaller studies, suggesting maybe vitamin d, calcium supplements may be protective. And like like Jin was saying, you know, a lot of this is medic, a lot of metabolic dysregulation. And as our population gets a little bit more heavy set and obesity becomes an issue even at a younger age, I think it's something we wanna be very mindful of, as well.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Okay. So it sounds like taking care of ourselves plays a big role. That's good to know. So what are the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer if if you've started to develop it inside your own body? How do you know?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I think the scary thing is for most people, and and Tony can attest to this, when we diagnose colon cancer, I would say the majority of times the patients have no symptoms at all. Oh, wow. So that's the scary thing. Yeah. So that's why it's important to actually get your screening done whether you're having symptoms or not on time.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Wow.
Dr. Tonny Lee:Jean, that's that's actually absolutely true. And and sometimes they get surprised and we get surprised, right, when we do a colonoscopy and we find a find a a mass in the colon. But I think, you know, some of the other, more obvious signs would be rectal bleeding, unexplained abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, sort of persistent change in bowel habits. All those things should raise a red flag and and hopefully, from from all awareness to, at least seek, seek out seek, advice and consultation from, from a physician.
Host: Brendan Hooley:So so early detection really, it sounds like it almost happens after the fact more than ahead of it, or or is or are there things that can help you detect it early, if you have colorectal cancer?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. I would say I would say, like, probably just coming to your getting your screening done on time, that's probably the most important thing. Like Tony was describing those symptoms.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Mhmm.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:But a lot of times, once you already have symptoms, it could be later a later stage of colon cancer. So in order to detect it early, I do think, like, I don't think symptoms actually matter. So I think, just coming in on time, whether you have a family history and getting your first screening colonoscopy earlier or just coming at that age of 45, I think it's very important.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Ah, well, that, takes me right to the question I was about to ask, which is who should be screened for this cancer and and how often and when do you start doing it? Because, I know I just recently had my first colonoscopy because I turned 40, about a year and a half ago.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So I I think just a one point to clarify, you know, when we talk about screening, screening really means no symptoms. So when whenever you already have symptoms, it's really no longer a screening exam. You know, you're trying to do a diagnostic study to figure out what the symptoms are from. So I think as Jean was alluding to, yeah, just just staying with the, age criteria, staying with the guidelines, start start at 45, and and continue to follow the guidelines.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Okay. So how often after you start getting screened for colon cancer, do you go back for another one?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So for colonoscopy, usually, it's every 10 years. And the reason that we can kinda stretch it out like that, the intervals being so long over 10 years, is because, colonoscopy not only detects early colon cancer, but it also detects the precursor regions, which are polyps. So if you do a colonoscopy and a patient does not have any polyps, no precursor lesions, they should be good for 10 years before they have to get screened again. So that's one unique thing about colon cancer. I think most other cancers like lung cancer, breast cancer, and so forth, they usually don't have a precursor lesion.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So that's what makes this disease, preventable, that we're able to identify those precursors and take care of them during the colonoscopy.
Host: Brendan Hooley:It it sounds like these precursors take a bit of time to develop then, yes? Yeah.
Dr. Tonny Lee:Usually, it takes several years for a, precancerous polyp to fully develop into, colon cancer. So there there is time, so I think you're right, Gene and Brandon. You know, it's a unique situation where we can actually affect patients and kind of be a true preventative measure. Because we're really not looking for cancer on this on this chronic colonoscopy. We're looking for, the precancerous polyps so we can remove them and therefore prevent colon cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Wow. So this has me curious. Are there any other ways that you can check for colon cancer besides a colonoscopy?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So, yeah. I think the the next or what we would actually recommend if you're not gonna get a colonoscopy, what we call a fit test. The fecal immunohisto immuno is it immunochemistry, test, looking for, microscopic blood in the stool? So that test is actually a very noninvasive way to screen for colon cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:But I imagine it has some limitations as a result of that. Yes?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. It's, I would say it it kinda ranges between 70 to 90% accuracy for detecting colon cancer. Mhmm. And the other thing is it's really detecting colon cancer. It's not really that great for detecting the precursor lesions or the polyps.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So that's why it has to be done fairly frequently, and we're talking at least once a year, to do the fit testing.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Oh, wow. So that's a much higher frequency.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. Mainly because we're yeah. Once again, we're detecting early colon cancer more so than the, the polyps. Yeah.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Okay. Well, sounds like the colonoscopy is the preferred method if you don't wanna keep testing so frequently. Tell me a little bit about that procedure. What is the prep for a colonoscopy look like these days?
Dr. Tonny Lee:So the prep fortunately has evolved over time and it used to be sort of a gallon of seawater, if you will. And it's, it's not fun to drink. It's it's the volume itself. It's it's relatively it's tough it's tough to bear. So I salute everyone for going through it.
Dr. Tonny Lee:But the, the all prep generally involves, some form of liquid or some sort of capsule, but also other, sometimes it's combined with other laxatives as well in in pill forms. And so patients will usually keep on a clear liquid diet that day prior to the procedure and they go through the bowel cleansing and then just stay, nothing by mouth overnight prior to the procedure and then just come in the morning and, be taken care of.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Taken care of is a good way to describe it. I I have vague memories of my colonoscopy. I remember waking up from the procedure. I don't really remember getting dressed, but I do remember then being in the the post op area where I was waiting to be picked up by by someone who came to take me home because, obviously, I couldn't drive home myself. So my memory is a little foggy of what happens afterwards.
Host: Brendan Hooley:How long do you usually keep patients after a colonoscopy before they can go home?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I think usually about I think on average, 15 to 30 minutes for for most patients. Yeah. You're right. The sedation actually works very well. Most patients don't remember the procedure at all.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:There are times, though, some patients are a little bit more tolerant to the sedation and they may remember bits and pieces. But with moderate sedation, the goal is just for comfort. And, yeah, once again, most patients, they do they do perfectly fine, and they don't have any discomfort during or after. So it's almost like that that that time period was erased from their life and then they wake up. It's all over.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yes. I called it milk of amnesia. Well so now that we've gotten through the the whole process of a colonoscopy, from the patient side, there's probably some stuff you're doing while I'm sedated. What what is the process of going in and looking for polyps like?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Hey, Brent Brenda, may I just ask, add one additional thing to what Jean was saying about the sedation pre on previous questions, because, you know, patients do have choices and we try to honor those choices. And some people actually decide to not receive any sedation. Usually probably a couple of time couple times a year, you know, folks don't wanna be sedated and they actually, you know, get a little crampy, but, you know, if you if the endoscopist takes the time and grind slowly, just maneuver and navigate the the scope, the colonoscope, they're actually relatively, comfortable, I would say. It's not it's not too bad. Yeah.
Dr. Tonny Lee:Interestingly, you know, anecdotally seems to be our police officers who do not wanna be sedated for one reason.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:See, Tony, I was gonna say that for me, they're usually engineers. Like engineers, they don't wanna watch. See everything. Yeah. Oh my god.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Control issues. Right? Yeah. So my my case has always been engineers that wanna be awake for their colonoscopy. So
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. I don't I don't think I need to see it. I I remember I remember watching an episode of the cartoon Futurama where, professor Farnsworth, one of the characters actually performs a colonoscopy and they kinda show it. But that was enough for me. Yeah.
Host: Brendan Hooley:A cartoon? That's all I need.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So the other thing was that now we're actually, sort of progressing into more deep level sedations, you know, with the Diprovan, otherwise known as propofol. But patients are actually out in about 10 seconds. And then the the the drug is actually very clean, so they're really awake within minutes after a procedure. It's really akin to a power nap, and I think has really taken away a lot of the grogginess, you know, that one would one would get from a moderate level sedation. So I think there are many options, and so it's it's actually much more comfortable now than years past.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So I I think that alleviates hopefully, that alleviates a lot of fear and concerns, from our patients.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. I definitely feel like the prep work was less was more of a hassle than the actual procedure. So I've heard that lately there's been an uptick of colorectal cancer affecting younger people, and wondering if you wanna talk about this a little. Do you think there might be a reason for why this is happening?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Sure. Yeah. This is this has been very interesting, and this is kinda why we decreased the the screening age from age 50 down to age 45. I believe, like, since 2011, I think they did a study from 2011 to 2019, it appeared that the colon cancer incidence was decreasing by 1% per year. But in patients, younger than the age of 55, they were the colon cancer incidence was actually increasing by 1 to 2% per year.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So for some reason, there was an uptick in in in the younger population. They have estimated, I believe, in the millennial generation, they have 2 times the risk of colon cancer and 4 times the risk of rectal cancer. Wow.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So I
Dr. Eugene Yoon:think, yeah, it's, it was a bit scary, but I I don't think we really have a good grasp on why that is. You know, we talked about those risk factors, and certainly that could be playing a part. Maybe those risk factors are more prominent in in this, the younger generation. I did come across this interesting study. They actually found that, in utero, there there may have been some sort of exposure, let's say, to a certain type of antibiotic, that affected their development.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:And later on, even in adulthood, that increased their risk of colon cancer. So, to be honest, we really don't know. There's a lot of theories out there, but we're really not too sure why. Wow. Tony, if you have any more research on that.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah.
Dr. Tonny Lee:You raised a lot of good points for Gene. And I know I I only have to look at my own kids, you know. They're they're much more sedentary. They play a lot of video games, you know. So I I think that, and childhood obesity, those kind of things come into play.
Dr. Tonny Lee:And I think we're we're probably more cognizant of these of of what's going on and maybe we're doing more screening, discovering more people, people are more aware of symptoms. And also, you know, there's a lot of processed foods, you know, the red meat, the processed foods, all those things are sort of bad for you. But, unfortunately, our our the younger folks are probably more prone to those, entities as well.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. I'm the child of hippies, so I I wasn't allowed a breakfast cereal that had sugar within the first four ingredients on the box. And even that, I think, was probably a little generous. What are some common myths and misconceptions about colorectal cancer and the screening process that that you've come up against or maybe heard from your patients as you're you're telling them about this procedure?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Like like we were alluding to before, like, I I do encounter a lot of patients that say I feel fine. I'm perfectly healthy. Therefore, I don't need to be screened for colon cancer. It's one of those things that colon cancer will sneak up on you. The whole goal is of screening is to make sure that nothing does sneak up on you because you won't have any symptoms until it it could potentially be too late.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:So yeah. Some peep oh, go ahead.
Host: Brendan Hooley:I was saying maybe maybe that's a a question worth segueing into then. You know, we're you talked about how these polyps grow slowly, how the screening process in a colonoscopy is really about finding those things before they become cancer. Once it becomes cancer, is colon cancer particularly lethal? Is it really hard to treat once it becomes a problem?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Yeah. I think as as with any any other medical condition in healthcare, I think early detection always bodes for a better outcome and certainly developing colon cancer is not a death sentence. But I think early early, evaluation, if you're fortunate enough to find that cancer still in a very contained stage, which actually, if if it's just some colon cancer cells inside of a polyp, that's a early transformation, and we can actually remove that endoscopically, for cure. And then one would not have to go through all the more really the, the morbidity of undergoing surgery, chemo, radiation therapies, all those things certainly, not only from a financial perspective, but also just from it's it's really a torture, you know, to go through all those things for the patients. So I think early detection is good and and certainly even with, later stage cancers, they're great therapies now, to boost survival.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. That's good to know. I I of of course, I yeah. I like anyone else, I think I would far prefer colonoscopy to chemotherapy. And it's it's good to know that it's a treatable cancer, but still, like, it's far more important to get it before it gets to that point, of course.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I think if caught early, we're talking, like, greater than 90%, you know, 5 year survival. But even, like Tony was alluding to, like, even later stage diseases, there have been a significant advancements with immunotherapy. They're very aggressive now even with stage 4 disease. Like, these are patients with colon cancer that had already spread to the liver, but there were the oncologists are very aggressive now with chemotherapy, surgical resection, even resecting the the the colon cancer that has spread to the liver. And some of these patients with late stage colon cancer, they're still alive 10 years later.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I've seen those patients as well. So, definitely, the treatment is, advanced. But still, you know, of course, we we want that the best outcome for our patients, so that would be early stage, finding it in the early stages. Yeah. Absolutely.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Do you think there's a stigma or a fear associated with getting screened for colorectal cancer?
Dr. Tonny Lee:Yeah. I think definitely. You know, a lot of people, just I guess find find it kind of humorous to to have a camera that goes into the rectum and and goes into the body. They you know, there's something that really intrinsically, do not gravitate towards. But I think, it it's a very easy process.
Dr. Tonny Lee:It's a minor detour. You know, you get the royal flush the day before and it's really just, you know, with the modern sedation now, you don't even lose a whole day. It's really, kind of a I I like it to Gilligan's Island. It's a 3 hour tour, you know, you you come in an hour prior to your procedure. The actual procedure is probably, you know, 20 minutes, 25 minutes, you know, or so, and then you recover for another 45 minutes and you go home.
Dr. Tonny Lee:And then with the with the now the cleaner type of sedation, and a lot of advances, cleaner type of sedation, you know, the the camera view is it's much better with, really 4 k imaging. So you see very clearly we're using pediatric cameras, very thin, flexible. You kinda glide through the colon. The the gas that we use to insufflate the colon, we've changed to carbon dioxide. So very quickly gets reabsorbed, you're not bloated afterwards.
Dr. Tonny Lee:And then we there's an irrigation system attached to the colon, you kinda run the colon through the carwash, if you will, you can kind of rinse. And so the failure rates from incomplete suboptimal prep is very low now. So I think, you know, there are a lot of advances. It's a very easy process. You're treated with, with a lot of respect and, you know, privacy and and, you know, and I think it's a very, you know, I think the I think we've evolved as as a field.
Dr. Tonny Lee:So hopefully that we can alleviate those concerns for our patients.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. Sure. Sounds like it. Like, I I I'm hearing a lot of innovations both in the diagnosis and the treatment of colon cancer these days. From what you're telling me, it sounds like this process is is a lot smoother and a lot more comfortable than it used to be.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I think the the process has been fine tuned. I think a lot of patients, they were very afraid of the embarrassment of the colonoscopy. But, but, yeah, it's it's such a routine common procedure now. Yeah. Patients usually don't feel feel that whatsoever.
Dr. Tonny Lee:I think, Jim, you're right. I think they are they usually don't they're hesitant to come for their initial one. But after they've gone through it, they usually have no trouble coming back again because it's just not that bad. It's actually very easy. Very easy.
Host: Brendan Hooley:So earlier, we talked about how it this isn't just a cancer for older folks that that younger people are getting it to. Do you do you happen to know about, like, what the percentages of people under the age of 50 that are getting diagnosed with colorectal cancer these days?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:I will defer to doctor Lee on this one. I don't know the exact number.
Dr. Tonny Lee:I I it's been estimated about, 10% of new cases, diagnosing in people younger than 50. You know, so it it again, it's a lot of genetic environmental factors, and then we we pay a lot of attention to family history, diet, lifestyle, chronic conditions. Younger people, as you all know, may have inherited, mutations or syndromes, that increase their risk. So, they may have other risk factors that are not related to age as well. So, I think it behooves everyone to to go through the screening.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Oh, that's great to hear. Alright. So let's do a little bit of myth versus fact with you, gentlemen. And here's my first one. Myth or fact, colorectal cancer only affects older people.
Dr. Tonny Lee:Oh, Brenna, I think I I read through that one already before. So my apologies.
Host: Brendan Hooley:So the answer is myth. Colorectal cancer can affect people of any age, although the risk increases with age. About 10% of the new cases are diagnosed to people under the age of 50 now. Alright. Let's do the next one.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Colorectal cancer has no symptoms. Myth or fact?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Actually, you know what? That could be both. So, yeah, colorectal cancer does have symptoms, but a lot of times, they do not have any symptoms as well. So, so that's, both a myth and a fact. Okay.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Just to get a reason to get a
Host: Brendan Hooley:reason to get a colonoscopy if you ask me. Alright. So here's another one for you. Colorectal cancer screening is painful and invasive. Myth or fact?
Host: Brendan Hooley:So definitely a myth.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Yeah. I think, majority vast majority of patients, after they get their colonoscopy, they usually say that was a whole lot easier than I thought. And there usually isn't any discomfort during or after like
Host: Brendan Hooley:we talked about. And I can agree from my personal experience. Alright. How about this one? Colorectal cancer is preventable.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Myth or fact?
Dr. Tonny Lee:I think we'll go with fact, Brandon. Colorectal cancer can be prevented, by removing polyps before they become cancerous or by detecting and treating cancer early. Screening tests certainly can help with both of these goals. And in addition, lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol use, and avoiding smoking, can also lower the risk of colorectal cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:And I'm pretty sure those can lower the risk of a lot of other cancers at the same time. So it's good advice. Alright. Last one. Myth or fact, colorectal cancer is fatal.
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Myth. It is, with advances in technology, with advances in screening, colon cancer is preventable and treatable. And that is just about
Host: Brendan Hooley:the greatest thing you can hear after being told that you might have cancer, which nobody wants to hear. Is there anything else that you 2 gentlemen want to make sure our audience knows that that we haven't covered yet in our chat today?
Dr. Tonny Lee:I think it comes back for me. It's about education and awareness and and sort of, trying to, raise that awareness for all our patients, you know, both in in people who have great access to care as well as the the population that's, perhaps don't have as much of an access. So, but but I think there are a lot of treatment modalities. Everything is getting better, just like everything in healthcare. New advances are coming.
Dr. Tonny Lee:We're using technology much better. A lot of good treatment modalities, but at the heart of it still is that we need to look for it, and then detect it early. So I think it's it's really a call call to action. I mean, I think as healthcare providers, our priority is to to make sure that we invite our patients, to come to the screening, to come to the testing, make sure we find if there's anything then find something early, if not then give them the peace of mind which I think is priceless as well. So I I think screening remains at the heart of our care for our patients.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. Sure sounds like it. And you've dispelled a lot of myths for me today. I'm hoping that you've dispelled a lot of myths for our listeners as well. Doctor Yin, did you have anything else you wanted to add?
Dr. Eugene Yoon:Maybe just to add, like, you know, I know we've been, like, pushing colonoscopy, and that is by far the the gold standard. But any type of colon cancer screening that is done, we're we're happy with. The best screening test is the one that gets done. So whether that's the stool test, whether that's the Cologuard test, we're happy when our patients are doing something to get screened for colon cancer.
Host: Brendan Hooley:Yeah. Well, I'm looking forward to my next 3 hour tour in about 8 years. And I'd like to thank you both for joining us today on Talk With A Doc. We look forward to continuing the important conversation on health and wellness with more experts from Providence in future episodes. So make sure you listen to all our episodes on Lit Live Radio under Future of Health Radio or your favorite podcast platform.
Host: Brendan Hooley:And follow us on social media. We can be found on X and Facebook and Providence and Instagram under Providence Health Systems. To learn about our mission, programs, and services, go to providence.org. Org. And please remember, the information provided during the program is for educational purposes only.
Host: Brendan Hooley:You should always consult your health care provider if you have any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment because we're all a little different. Thanks for listening, and thank you, doctor Yoon and doctor Lee for joining us today. And remember, at Providence, we see the life in you.
