USA Health offers an extensive network of physicians and other healthcare providers through USA Physicians Group, the region’s largest multispecialty practice, and several other affiliated physician practices.
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At USA Health, we treat people. In doing so, we want to understand your unique needs so our doctors and other providers can design a plan of care specifically for you. Use the field below to search for a specific service, treatment, specialty or provider.
USA Health offers an extensive network of physicians and other healthcare providers through USA Physicians Group, the region’s largest multispecialty practice, and several other affiliated physician practices.
At USA Health, we treat people. In doing so, we want to understand your unique needs so our doctors and other providers can design a plan of care specifically for you. Use the field below to search for a specific service, treatment, specialty or provider.
The gold standard of screening for colon cancer is the colonoscopy, a
low-risk, minimally invasive procedure that helps detect precancerous
polyps and removes them before they develop into anything worse.
Today, compared with 10 or 20 years ago, the colonoscopy experience
is easier for patients. The day before consists of a slightly restricted
diet and a bowel prep to clean out the colon before the procedure.
If you have a friend or family member who has had a colonoscopy in
years past who has told you horrible stories, the preps are easier now
than they ever have been. In general, we use a low-volume, split-dose
preparation consisting of a small bottle of medicine followed by quite a
bit of water.
Another dose will be taken five hours before the procedure so that
the colon is clean. There’s also a pill-based form of the prep, which is
12 pills twice with a lot of water.
If you don’t want to start with a colonoscopy, stool-based tests such
as Cologuard or FIT Test are available if you are at average risk,
which means you have no family history of colon cancer. However, if you
test positive, the next step is still a colonoscopy.
On the day of the procedure, the patient will come to the GI lab at
the hospital, where they’ll get an IV placed and be given anesthesia so
they are asleep and in no pain throughout the entirety of the screening.
The medicine wears off quickly, and patients are typically up,
talking and feeling relatively normal 30 minutes to an hour after the
colonoscopy is complete. By using CO2 to inflate the colon instead of
air, recovery is faster. The CO2 dissolves on its own, which eliminates
the cramping and bloating that patients used to experience afterward.
Still, it’s recommended to take off work the day of the procedure and
have someone drive you home after it’s done. There are no dietary
restrictions after the colonoscopy is complete, so get your favorite
food, and rest.
Frequency of screenings vary from patient to patient. For an
average-risk individual, a patient with no family history of colon
cancer and no symptoms, we recommend starting screening at age 45. If no
polyps are found on the colonoscopy, the patient will need another one
in 10 years. If they do a stool-based test such as Cologuard, it will
need to be repeated one to two to three years max.
Family history puts a patient at elevated risk, so if you do have a
family member with a history of colon cancer, you are not a candidate
for a stool-based colon cancer test. In that case, a colonoscopy is
recommended.
It’s possible that you may have to be screened at an earlier age
depending on the age at which your family member was diagnosed. This
would apply to your first-degree relatives: mom, dad, brother, sister or
child.
If you haven’t had a colon cancer screening yet, you do have options.
Learn about your family history, and talk with your physician to
develop your preventive care plan.
The new Whiddon College of Medicine building will provide state-of-the-art laboratory spaces that will create flexibility and efficiency for research today and in the future. It will also allow for expanding the class size of first-year medical students from 80 to 100, with the capability of increasing to 120 in the future, at the same time the nation faces a projected shortage of healthcare providers.
Vicki Curtis, M.S.N., RN, previously served as director of women’s services, overseeing development of the new Mother/Baby Unit and Women’s Complex Care, among other important initiatives.
Join us Thursday, March 21, at the Soul Kitchen in downtown Mobile for the third annual Doc Rock, a “battle of the bands” event that supports research and critical clinical needs at USA Health.
Dec312024
Our calendar lists special events and regularly scheduled classes separately. To display a list of upcoming classes, select the "Classes" option above or visit Events, Classes and Support Groups at USA Health.
Every month, USA Health Children's & Women's Hospital offers free, in-person breastfeeding classes for expectant and newly delivered mothers.
Dec152023
The mission of this support group is to journey with those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
Jan22024
The mission of SOS is to create an atmosphere for gynecologic cancer survivors to come together, and receive and give emotional and psychological support to one another.
Jan22024
The mission of this support group is to journey with those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
Jan22024
The mission of this support group is to journey with those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.
