Having more colonoscopies isn’t fun, but it can save your life.

When it comes to screening tests, colonoscopies rank right up there on the list of everyone’s least favorite. For most people, this test to look for colorectal cancer is just a once-every-10-years annoyance. But if you’ve had inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) — either ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease — for a long time, you’ll need to have the test done every year or two.

The fact is, if you’ve had IBD for more than 8 years, you need more frequent colonoscopies because you’re at a higher risk of developing colon cancer, says gastroenterologist Roshini Raj, MD, assistant professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center. “And because colon cancer is treatable when caught early, screening and looking out for warning symptoms are very important,” she says.

Why Is Your Risk Higher?
The reason having IBD for a long time puts you at greater risk for colorectal cancer has to do with inflammation. Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation in the lining of your colon (large intestine). Crohn’s disease can cause inflammation in any part of your digestive tract, including the colon. Over time, that chronic inflammation can make it more likely that you’ll develop colon cancer. And the more of your colon that has chronic inflammation, the higher your risk.

Dr. Raj says colon cancer has become less common in the IBD population in recent years, but the reason for the decline is unknown. “It may be due to more screening, better IBD treatments and more effective colonoscopy techniques,” she says. “But since we don’t know how much each of these is contributing to the decrease, the screening recommendations haven’t changed.”

Why Screening Matters
As a cancer screening test, the colonoscopy is unique in that it not only detects cancer, but it can also prevent it. To conduct the test, a doctor inserts a flexible tube into your colon to view the lining of the colon and look for cancerous growths. During the procedure, the doctor can also remove any growths (called polyps) that may eventually turn into cancer.

“When we do a colonoscopy in an IBD patient, we’re looking not only for cancer but for pre-cancerous changes called ‘dysplasia,'” explains Raj. Because these changes may not be visible to the naked eye, the doctor may take a few biopsies throughout the colon. If dysplasia is found, it means you’re very like to develop cancer down the road and a doctor can surgically remove the colon, preventing cancer from ever taking hold, Raj says.

What to Expect
Many patients worry that the test will be painful, but you’ll be given medication to help you relax. The outpatient procedure itself lasts only about 20-30 minutes.

For most people, the “prep” you do the day before to clean out your colon is the worst part, because you need to drink large quantities of a salty liquid. But even this prep stage has gotten easier in recent years because the amount of liquid you drink is less than it used to be. So take the plunge. It could end up saving your life.

Originally published on Sharecare