26 The Courier sun • wellness • MARCH 17, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com WELLNESS ARE YOU OVER 50? Then you should have a life-saving colonoscopy For Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, NYC Health + Hospitals urges all Queens residents 50 and older to undergo potentially lifesaving s colorectal cancer screening. In New York City colorectal cancer is the second deadliest cancer, killing approximately 1,400 people each year according to the New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition (C5), which includes NYC Health + Hospitals, the City’s essential public health system. Yet 90 percent of colorectal cancers are curable when caught in the early stages. NYC Health + Hospitals, which operates Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst and Queens Hospital in Jamaica, performed over 4,000 colonoscopies in Queens in 2015. Men and women over age 50 should have a colonoscopy at least once every 10 years. Individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer should speak with their healthcare provider about more frequent screenings starting at an earlier age. NYC Health + Hospitals offers affordable colonoscopies and other screening tests to all New Yorkers. “NYC Health + Hospitals offers affordable colonoscopies and other screening tests to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay or immigration status,” said President Dr. Ram Raju. “Our intent is to make colon cancer screening a routine part of preventive health care for everyone over the age of 50. Effective early detection of avoidable cancers is an important public health goal.” People with colon cancer often have no symptoms until the disease has reached advanced stages. However, signs of colon cancer may include: • a change in bowel habits, including diarrhea, constipation or a change in consistency of stool; • rectal bleeding or blood in stool; • persistent abdominal discomfort, such as cramps, gas or pain; • a feeling that the bowel does not completely empty after a bowel movement; • weakness or fatigue; and • unexplained weight loss. During the colonoscopy exam, a doctor looks inside the colon using a thin, bendable, lighted tube that has a small camera on the end. If polyps are found, they can be removed right away. The exam lasts about 30 minutes. Typically at NYC Health + Hospitals, polyps and other pre-cancerous growths are removed in about 20 percent of colonoscopies performed, when the disease can be prevented or treated effectively. That rate is consistent with the national average. Other screening tests are also available. “Colon cancer is a silent killer,” said Dr. Joshua S. Aron, a gastroenterologist at NYC Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst. “By the time people feel symptoms treatment can be difficult or ineffective. Therefore, a screening or preventive colonoscopy is the best way to prevent death from colon cancer. Fortunately, we’ve been seeing more awareness in Queens. And with new surgical treatments and chemotherapy options, patients with colon cancer are living longer and enjoying a better quality of life. So don’t be scared and don’t put it off — if you are 50 years of age or older, ask your doctors about how you can prevent colon cancer starting today.” Overall NYC Health + Hospitals performed almost 22,000 colonoscopies in 2015, almost twice as many as it did when it began an initiative a decade ago to get more New Yorkers to undergo colon cancer screenings. That initiative, as well as the work of the C5 coalition, has helped to close the disparity in colon cancer screening rates that exists in most other parts of the country among blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics. In New York City, the colonoscopy screening rate is now the same across ethnic groups, though in 2003 whites were screened at a significantly higher rate than other groups. KILLER VARICOSE VEINS 600,000 people a year die due to the complications of venous insufficiency. Varicose veins and leg pain are not just cosmetic problem, but can be a serious medical condition, that can lead to life-threatening complications. Eliminate painful, unsightly varicose veins, skin changes or even ulcers with newest non-surgical treatment, called Endovenous Laser Treatment (EVLT). Advantages of Endovenous Laser Treatment (EVLT): -Relief of Symptoms and Leg Pain; -Short procedure (15 minutes); -No surgery; -No down time; -No local anesthesia; -No hospitalization required. 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