What Everyone Gets Wrong about Colonoscopies

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Colonoscopy gets a bad rap, but how much of what you’ve heard is actually true? In recognition of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we’re tackling the biggest myths that keep people from getting this potentially lifesaving screening. John Nathanson, a gastroenterologist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, joins host Rachel Feltman to clear up what the misconceptions are, explain what to expect and share why this test is so important. Recommended reading: The Colon Cancer Conundrum Colon Cancer Linked to Mouth Bacteria Email us at sciencequickly@sciam.com if you have any questions, comments or ideas for stories we should cover! Discover something new everyday: subscribe to Scientific American and sign up for our daily newsletter. Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Naeem Amarsy and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was edited by Alex Sugiura. Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck fact-check our show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:27.8	slash UK slash AI for people. For Scientific American Science quickly, I'm Rachel Feldman.
0:40.2	Few outpatient medical procedures inspire as much negativity as the colonoscopy.
0:45.6	In honor of colorectal cancer awareness month, we've decided to bust up some of the myths
0:50.2	that make people avoid this crucial procedure.
0:54.1	My guest today is John Nathanson. He's a gastroenterologist at B. that make people avoid this crucial procedure.
0:56.2	My guest today is John Nathanson.
1:01.4	He's a gastroenterologist at New York Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
1:03.3	Thanks so much for joining us today.
1:05.0	It's great being here. Thank you for having me.
1:09.2	So we are here to debunk some colonoscopy myths.
1:13.3	First things first, you know, why do you think colonoscopies are like so reviled by the general public? I had one to check on some post-COVID GI issues about a
1:19.5	year ago. And I was really surprised at how not awful it all was based on the general vibe. So yeah,
1:26.1	why do you think they sort of loom so large in people's
1:29.0	minds? Well, absolutely. You know, I think it's a sensitive topic. People, you know, don't normally
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