A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a mini-presentation on colon and bowel cancer at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital, which was obviously promoting its newly built colorectal unit on the third floor.

It was a very interesting presentation and the associate professor in charge, Dr Art, gave a simple to understand presentation and invited questions as he went along. The most alarming statistics were those concerning expats from the UK, North America, much of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where the incidences of colorectal cancer were the highest, compared to Thailand where, they are amongst the lowest (for Thais that is).

What was even more interesting was that if caught early, colorectal cancer is very curable, and as prevention is better than cure, then screening would have to be quite high on one's agenda, especially if they came from one of the above-mentioned areas.

I had been thinking about having a colonoscopy for some time, so went ahead and booked an appointment. Of course there are other screening procedures like the fecal occult blood test which is easy to do in one's home, however I decided to go with a colonoscopy so that if there were any polyps around, they could be removed at the same time.

It is a pretty routine procedure anyway, however the staff at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital colorectal unit were great, smiling, helpful and reassuring.

I chose to have a mild sedative (apparently some people don't) and didn't feel a thing although I was part awake during the procedure, after which I was wheeled into a recovery room and allowed to doze for a while.

I then had a meeting with Dr Art and he showed me the results (photographs) which were good, with no polyps and no sign of anything untoward.

Luckily enough my BUPA insurance paid for it which was around 13,000 baht, however even if they hadn't, I would have still gone ahead with it.

So in summary, I can recommend the unit and the staff, as well as Dr Art, and if anyone has been considering having this done, or suffers from changes in their bowel habits (especially for those folk over age 50) then this is an opportunity, using the latest equipment and great staff, to get peace of mind.

Question - was that an OPD procedure that your BUPA insurance covers ??

Good on you for taking care of yourself. And, thank you for not posting pics.

Good on you for taking care of yourself. And, thank you for not posting pics.

I had to google what colonoscopy ment. I guess this is explains enough.

From wiki: "Symptoms of colorectal cancer typically include rectal bleeding and anemia which are sometimes associated with weight loss and changes in bowel habits." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal_cancer

Do you have to make an appointment, and then follow some sort of regiment for a day or so prior to the exam? I’m told 50 years old is a standard on having this done, and that is approaching fast for me.

Quote LivinginKata: "was that an OPD procedure that your BUPA insurance covers ??".

Interesting point, because although my BUPA Thai does not normally cover OPD procedures, and I informed the hospital staff that this was the case, they contacted BUPA Thai, and it was allowed. Don't ask me why, and I am pleased that this was the case, however as I did state, had it not been covered by the insurance, I would have gone ahead anyway because I also think prevention is better than cure.

Quote Shot: "Do you have to make an appointment, and then follow some sort of regiment for a day or so prior to the exam? I’m told 50 years old is a standard on having this done, and that is approaching fast for me".

In answer to that, I made an appointment to see Dr Art, and he went over my current health and any medications I was taking, before arranging for an appointment for the actual colonoscopy. Yes you do have to follow a regime one day prior to the procedure and that involves only eating such things as porridge, jelly and clear soups on the day prior to the procedure, and then at about 6 p.m. you mix a solution that you are given, with 2 L of water and proceed to take that over the next couple of hours.

This acts as a pretty severe laxative and is designed to "clear out the system" (although it is not uncomfortable and is something that is easy to handle) and you can drink water afterwards up until midnight, and then after that nothing until the procedure is undertaken.

To be honest, I found it nothing to worry about and easy to follow and now after the procedure I have eaten a normal meal with a few glasses of wine and I feel fine. All the more because the results were positive and put my mind at rest.

I had read that after the age of 50, it is a good procedure to have, although the fecal occult blood test is the first step in order to determine whether there are possible problems.

As a rider, I had a conversation with a guy I know who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer (quite advanced he told me) and when I asked him if he had experienced any marked change in bowel habits, or bleeding etc, and he said no he had experienced nothing out of the ordinary until such time as he had some strange symptoms, and decided to go along to hospital for an examination.

I'm not an expert on the subject, however maybe it is one of those things that creeps up on you as you get older, and surely it doesn't hurt to have a medical opinion or examination, purely because of age or lifestyle, for example.

Generally regarded in the UK medical profession as a good monitoring/preventative test for males to undertake every 5 years after you hit 50. Much cheaper here than in the UK where a private hospital is likely to charge the best part of 50,000 baht. Saves insurers money in the long run which is why so many cover it.

Good on you for taking care of yourself. And, thank you for not posting pics.

I had to google what colonoscopy ment. I guess this is explains enough.

From wiki: "Symptoms of colorectal cancer typically include rectal bleeding and anemia which are sometimes associated with weight loss and changes in bowel habits." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal_cancer

This photo looks like getting ready for a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) and not a colonoscopy which is normally done in a lying-down position and a small camera at the end of a tube is inserted into the anus! Just saying!!

sounds like a old man's problem, or should we worry to 555

Well, research has changed the picture. A recent article in the New York Times reported that it is now thought that most colonoscopies are not necessary and that safer tests are available. Still, if an individual wants to know precisely what the condition of the inside of his colon is, then it's his/her right to have the test. Similarly, an article in the same paper today reported that it is OK to eat butter and meat with fat since the relation between the intake of saturated fat and the incidence of heart disease has proved to be nonexistant. Also, the bunk of LDL vs HDL has been put to rest. My cardiologist at Bumrungrad simply tells me what the sum of the combined numbers is now and there is no discussion of maintaining a certain LDL level. It now appears that sugar and highly-processed food with lots of additives are the dangerous things. Hmmm. The pharmaceutical companies and food producers have probably made trillions of dollars over the years by pushing the low fat idea so they could make money on artificial butter and selling statin drugs to get our LDL levels as low as possible. How could the researchers have been so wrong? For information on the different take on fat, see today's article in the International New York Times.

This unit and the staff are really great. Had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy there. It was the best gastroscopy in my life. Sensational. Unfortunately i have expierence with things like this.

If life sucks than It is no question of age. But never mind Dr Art and his staff will care good for you.

Question - was that an OPD procedure that your BUPA insurance covers ??

My BUPA policy covered OPD colonoscopy even though I have no OPD cover. Suggest you check your policy. Phuket much cheaper than Bangkok where I paid about Baht20,000 reclaimed from BUPA.

Well, research has changed the picture. A recent article in the New York Times reported that it is now thought that most colonoscopies are not necessary and that safer tests are available. Still, if an individual wants to know precisely what the condition of the inside of his colon is, then it's his/her right to have the test. Similarly, an article in the same paper today reported that it is OK to eat butter and meat with fat since the relation between the intake of saturated fat and the incidence of heart disease has proved to be nonexistant. Also, the bunk of LDL vs HDL has been put to rest. My cardiologist at Bumrungrad simply tells me what the sum of the combined numbers is now and there is no discussion of maintaining a certain LDL level. It now appears that sugar and highly-processed food with lots of additives are the dangerous things. Hmmm. The pharmaceutical companies and food producers have probably made trillions of dollars over the years by pushing the low fat idea so they could make money on artificial butter and selling statin drugs to get our LDL levels as low as possible. How could the researchers have been so wrong? For information on the different take on fat, see today's article in the International New York Times.

Agree that research will change the picture as more is done on various things, however with the colonoscopy, it is still considered the "Gold Standard" by the medical profession and still has benefits over other new procedures such as the colonoscopy by CT scan. This because the CT scan can miss small polyps and tumours which can be picked up by a normal colonoscopy.

It is considered extremely safe, and not only that, if a polyp or growth is seen whilst undergoing a colonoscopy, then it is removed there and then.

Don't know if the colonoscopy by CT scan is available here anyway, so one has to make the best of what is available, rather than putting it off – – safer that way I believe.

PS. Thank you for the info on the different take on fat in the International New York Times, will take a look at that.

Very interesting. A few days ago a cashier at Memorial Hospital, Pattaya quoted me 24,000 Bt for a colonoscopy. Have an appointment to see the specialist on 5th April. Have had a CT Scan because of consistent pain in my abdomen. Diagnosis was all clear. In other words the doc didn't know the cause of the pain, hence his suggestion I see the colon doc. to discus the matter. Unfortunately I can't get insurance cover because of my age.

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Very interesting. A few days ago a cashier at Memorial Hospital, Pattaya quoted me 24,000 Bt for a colonoscopy. Have an appointment to see the specialist on 5th April. Have had a CT Scan because of consistent pain in my abdomen. Diagnosis was all clear. In other words the doc didn't know the cause of the pain, hence his suggestion I see the colon doc. to discus the matter. Unfortunately I can't get insurance cover because of my age.

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That seems excessive AND may include the cost of removing any polyps........you may want to check on that.

Good luck with the procedure/appointment.

Generally regarded in the UK medical profession as a good monitoring/preventative test for males to undertake every 5 years after you hit 50. Much cheaper here than in the UK where a private hospital is likely to charge the best part of 50,000 baht. Saves insurers money in the long run which is why so many cover it.

Can be double that depending on where you live or have it done.

http://www.privatehealth.co.uk/hospitaltreatment/whatdoesitcost/colonoscopy/