UCI Health to live stream colonoscopy to raise awareness of colorectal cancer prevention
Public invited to watch as it happens on March 30
March 21, 2016
UCI Health will live stream a colonoscopy, featuring two of our gastroenterology experts. Dr. Kenneth Chang, executive director of the H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center, will perform the procedure on Dr. Gregory Albers, medical director, UCI Health GI Diagnostic Services.
Albers is due for his regularly scheduled colorectal cancer screening and will undergo the procedure on Wednesday, March 30 at 8 a.m. PDT.
“Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. It is also one of the most preventable types of cancer, because it can be diagnosed early and successfully treated,” Chang said. “We want to raise awareness of the importance of colonoscopies in detecting and preventing colorectal cancer and demystify the procedure.”
While the procedure is being live streamed, audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions about colonoscopies and colon health via Twitter, and the doctors will answer them.
“Proper screening helps prevent colon cancer,” Albers said. “Colonoscopy, which identifies and removes polyps in a single procedure, is the gold standard for cancer detection and prevention. Polyps are precursors to colorectal cancer, and usually take 10 years to become cancerous, so removing them early prevents cancer from developing.”
Men and women should be screened every 10 years starting at age 50. Those at higher risk should be screened earlier and more often.
Access the live stream here, http://www.ucirvinehealth.org/news/2016/03/live-stream-colonoscopy/
Submit questions through our Twitter Chat at #UCIHealthChat
UCI Health comprises the clinical, medical education and research enterprises of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at physician offices throughout Orange County and at its main campus, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., a 411-bed acute care hospital that provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation. U.S. News & World Report has listed it among America’s Best Hospitals for 15 consecutive years. UC Irvine Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program, Level I trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center, and is the primary teaching hospital for UC Irvine School of Medicine. UCI Health serves a region of more than 3 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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