In short
- The polyp-to-cancer timeline
- Who should start earlier
- What a good colonoscopy looks like
- It is easier than you think
The polyp-to-cancer timeline
Most colon cancers begin as small polyps that take 7–10 years to turn malignant. A colonoscopy finds and removes them in the same sitting. No other cancer screening prevents the cancer itself.
Who should start earlier
Anyone with a first-degree relative with colon cancer or polyps (start at 40 or ten years before their age at diagnosis), long-standing ulcerative colitis, or genetic syndromes.
What a good colonoscopy looks like
Complete examination, clean preparation, careful withdrawal and high-definition imaging with narrow-band imaging to spot flat lesions — the kind Dr Paliwal trained to find in Japan.
It is easier than you think
Sedation makes it a nap; preparation is one evening; results are immediate; most people repeat only after 10 years.
Dr Maneesh Paliwal
MBBS, MD, DM Gastroenterology & Hepatology (SGPGI), SCE (UK). Senior Consultant, PSRI Hospital; founder, Gut Liver Obesity Clinic, Chittaranjan Park. 22+ years; founded Delhi's first luminal GI lab.