Page 20 avvya yavvy eniiooravvy S iorn or v y io iori by Jim Miller Dreading a Colonoscopy? There Are Alternatives Dear Savvy Senior, Are there any easier alternatives to a colonoscopy to screen for colon cancer? I just turned 60 and my wife keeps nagging me to get tested, but I hate the idea of drinking that laxative solution and being sedated for the procedure. Squeamish Steven Dear Steven, While a colonoscopy remains the most accurate screening test for detecting colon cancer (94 percent accurate), there are other easier – although less accurate – tests available. But be aware that if the result of one of these tests are positive, you’ll still need to undergo a colonoscopy. Here’s what you should know. Screening Guidelines Colorectal cancer, which develops slowly over several years without causing symptoms especially in the early stages, is the second largest cancer killer in the U.S., claiming more than 50,000 Americans each year. Colorectal cancer screening guidelines from the U.S. preventive Services Taskforce and the American Cancer Society call for most adults to get screened starting at age 45 and continuing through age 75. Earlier screenings, however, are recommended to people who have an increased risk due to family history of colorectal cancer or polyps, or a personal history of infl ammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. But despite these guidelines, and the fact that colonoscopies save an estimated 20,000 U.S. lives each year, around 40 percent of eligible people don’t get screened. Why? Because most people, like yourself, dread the laxative prep and sedation, not to mention the procedure itself. But a colonoscopy is not your only option for screening for colon cancer. There are currently several types of FDA approved stool tests that you can take in the privacy of your own home that requires no laxative-taking/bowel-cleansing preparation. The two most accurate that you should ask your doctor about are the: Fecal immunochemical test (FIT): This test looks for hidden blood in your stool, which suggests polyps or even cancer. Your doctor will give you a FIT test kit to use at home. You take a small sample of stool and mail it to a lab to be analyzed. You don’t need to do any prep. The cost of this annual test is covered by private insurance and Medicare. FIT has an almost 80 percent accuracy rate for detecting colon cancer, but it detects only about 28 percent of advanced polyps that might turn into cancer. Stool DNA test (Cologuard): This screening kit looks for hidden blood as well as altered DNA in your stool. Your doctor will order the test, and you will receive the collection kit in the mail. You do the test at home every three years and send your stool samples to Cologuard via UPS. No special prep or change to your diet or medication schedule is required. Cologuard, which is covered by most private insurers and Medicare, detects 92 percent of colon cancers but only 42 percent of large precancerous polyps. It also may provide a false-positive, indicating that you might have cancer when you don’t. New Blood Test There’s also a new experimental colon cancer blood test you should ask your doctor about called the “Shield blood test.” This new test, developed by Guardant Health, detects more than 80 percent of colon cancers early when they’re most treatable. Guardant is currently seeking FDA approval to market the test but it’s available now as a “lab-based test” (which does not require FDA approval) but it’s currently not covered by most private insurers or Medicare. Your doctor will need to request this test, which costs $895, at BloodBasedScreening.com. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 14, 2024 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 6 points in between – those were the best of days, my friend! Hope you had a good one, Luce! • “Malden Musings” remembers ninth graders Al Owens and John Surette. Tragically killed walking the tracks along Pearl Street over 50 years ago – their young lives are never forgotten. • Bigly kudos to Chris Rosa and his hardworking crew at the Forest Dale Cemetery. Between Gary Stumpf, John Locke, Jimmy Knox, Matt Sullivan, Michelle Connelly and the fabulous gang at Garrick Landscaping, the Forest Dale Cemetery was a showcase space for the Memorial Day festivities two weeks ago. Great work, folks! The cem never looked so good! • What can’t he do?!! Spotted former Ward 6 Councillor Neil Kinnon acting as crossing guard last week, carefully guiding a group of MVRCS youngsters across Salem Street. Way to go, Neil. As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – Dante Diserio’s daughter Adriana passed away suddenly recently. For that, Dante, I am so sorry for your loss. One of her best friends, Deanna DeMayo, had this fabulous eulogy on Facebook: “I gotta say I’m in shock by this …. Adriana Diserio! You and I had a very fun time growing up literally fi ve houses down and we have all the best memories of clubbing and beach times together to prove that you were the best! We used to drink vodka and cranberry outta red solo cups as we got ready to go out and u always had me do your hair! Your nonna would make us food before we went clubbing!!! I loved her. Straight off the boat from Italy. Ahhhh, we were so young. Our grandfathers, Dante and Danny, were very good friends in WW2 together! I’ll never forget that you were the worst driver known to mankind and that was probably the only thing I was ever afraid of in this world - getting in that jeep to go to the Palace, Landsdowne Street, the North End, or Hampton. The list goes on and on! The fi rst pic is us on the tall ships in Boston that came in from Italy that we got the invite to go on to and party the night away! Hahahaha is all I’m going to say and the second is our family trip to Hampton, the third is some house party that was a banger! You had a vivacious spirit as so did I! You were my favorite Scorpio friend and I’m grateful to have had some of the best times in my life with you! I wish I had met up with you after we saw each other and got coff ee! I regret that so much had I known this would have happened! You get older, life gets busy, and you drift. I will always cherish those times we had, the secrets we shared, and the hell we put our mothers through. Rest in sweet peace now with your mom and tell our friends up there we love them and miss them. Till we meet again have the curly iron ready and I’ll do your hair like I did every weekend!!! Go bump back that (derriere) up by Juvenile in the heaven’s girl!!” Postscript 1: Best line heard at Jean’s funeral mass at the Immaculate Church... “the Tomasellos had three girls; they were the toughest family in Edgeworth.” Insert smiley face. Postscript 2: Another shock to our systems with the passing of Bob Rotondi. Dana Brown paid respect as only Dana could: “Bob Rotondi ran his own ‘living wake’ 2 months ago. That’s how quietly bad-a** he was. Great man, spoke in truths whether we liked it or not, memory that will never be replicated, storyteller extraordinaire. Selfl ess, servant-leader. Did for others fi rst...RIP Bob.” Postscript 3: June 4 just might go down as one of the saddest day in the 375 years of Malden’s existence (certainly in my 61 years here) – the day political posturing needlessly divided us as a city. —Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate and can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms. EVENT | FROM PAGE 15 ferent artists will participate, including Beth Copp, Ginny Remedi Brown, Sarah Morrison and Tamara Matzken. Their assorted art includes candles, decoupage and much more. While there will be a lot of tangible artwork, Artists Take the Street will feature musicians who create and play music in Massachusetts. Award-winning keys player Santon will perform from 1-2 p.m. With two album releases, Santon has an incredible catalog of music for all his listeners. During the afternoon, singer/ songwriter Maddie Lam will also perform. Her stage presence and gentle lyricism is sure to enchant any listener who attends the event. Along with art demonstrations and music performances, there will be activities at Artists Take the Street. Gina De will be doing free face painting from 12-2 p.m., and henna artist Karyn Alzayer will be doing free henna from 1-3 p.m. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
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