Preventing colorectal cancer: A team sport?

Some things are just better with a partner. Might that be true for colonoscopies, too?

UCI Health anesthesiologist Dr. Cameron Ricks and his wife, Michelle Malchiodi, recently discovered it could be after they scheduled their first screening together out of convenience.

The Dana Point couple turn 52 this year and neither has a family history of colon cancer. But regular screening is recommended beginning at age 45. Of the various screening methods, a colonoscopy, which examines the lining of the large intestine, is the gold standard for detecting and preventing colorectal cancers early, when they are most treatable.

“We figured we may as well go through the prep together,” she says. “There were a lot of laughs that night!”

They also fasted together, which Malchiodi says had its own benefits.

“No one had to watch the other enjoy a delicious dinner.”

Her mother stepped in to help with childcare duties and getting them home from the hospital, since they both opted to be sedated for the procedure. They took a rideshare vehicle over to the UCI Health — Irvine campus,

“The whole experience was so positive,” Malchiodi says. “Beautiful facility, kind and caring staff.”

UCI Health Chao Digestive Health Institute gastroenterologist Dr. Nimisha Parekh performed the procedure.

“Doing a couples colonoscopy for my anesthesiologist colleague and his wife on the same day might sound like a sitcom episode, but it’s actually one of my favorite reminders that prevention is a team sport,” she says.

“Nothing says, ‘We’re in this together’ quite like matching prep days and a shared commitment to staying healthy.”

Whether a colonoscopy is done as a couple or solo, Parekh urges everyone to get screened when it’s recommended, either at 45 for those at average risk or earlier for those at higher risk.

Colorectal cancer, she notes, is one of the leading causes of U.S. cancer deaths in men and women.

“Early detection saves lives.”