Conquering colon cancer.

Byline: Nat Levy The Register-Guard

After losing his mother and three aunts to colorectal cancer, Steve Mealey urged his youngest sister to get a colonoscopy. But she resisted, and it cost her her life.

"Inexplicably, she experienced my mother's ill health and she chose not to have a colonoscopy," Mealey said Tuesday. "I can't answer as to why. In her last year of life she knew it was a mistake and she regretted it."

Determined to outlast the cancer, Mealey went in for his first screening in 1984, two years after his mother died of the disease in her native Ireland. He was only 42, and in great shape. Mealey, who has received a cancer screening test every year since, was diagnosed with a rare colon disease called ulcerative colitis.

Being in good condition, Mealey never would have gone in for that initial screening had it not been for the extensive family history of colon cancer.

"I had just completed a couple of marathons in Denver at that time," said Mealey, a Springfield resident. "I actually thought of myself as being sort of a macho dude, and kind of invincible. I was strong and pretty full of myself. The last thing in my mind, the very last thing, was that I was unhealthy."

Not surprisingly, Mealey today is a passionate advocate of the importance of colon cancer screenings. It's why he met up Tuesday with two doctors at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend to help kick off Colon Cancer Screening Awareness Month, as declared by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Without consistent screening, Mealey easily could have become one of the nearly 25,000 people who die of colon cancer annually.

According to PeaceHealth gastroenterologists Andrew Mirhej and Paul Evans, more than half the people who should be screened for colon cancer never are.

The disease exhibits little or no symptoms at the beginning, Mirhej said, so catching the cancer early is impossible without consistent screening.

"With colon cancer, symptoms come on very late," Mirhej said. "Once symptoms appear, the disease is already too far along."

The two doctors said getting colonoscopies every few years is the best way to prevent the development of colorectal cancer.

Evans said that if patients have a colonoscopy that comes back normal, they typically are advised to come back in 10 years. If a small polyp is detected, they're advised to come again in five years; and if doctors find a large polyp, the patient is advised to return between one and three years later.

A lot of people remain wary of having a colonoscopy, which entails an inspection of the intestinal tract using a thin flexible tube with a camera attached, known as a colonoscope, to look at the condition of the lining of the large intestine. But that should never dissuade people from having screening done, Evans said.

Men and women over the age of 50 and anyone with a family history of the disease - such as Mealey - are at the highest risk of developing colorectal cancer.

Several effective alternatives to colonoscopy can also catch colorectal cancer in its early stages. A fecal occult blood test determines whether patients have blood in their stool sample, a symptom of several intestinal diseases. Another alternative, a virtual colonoscopy, uses a computerized tomography scan to inspect the colon.

Standard colonoscopy procedures are covered by most health plans. Medicare covers an annual fecal occult blood test and a colonoscopy every other year. Evans said the virtual colonoscopy isn't covered by most insurance providers.

At RiverBend, a colonoscopy costs about $1,500, Mirhej said. Patients who need a colonoscopy but don't have the insurance or funds can apply to the hospital's Bridge Assistance Program, which offers medical services for free or at a discounted cost to those who are unable to pay.

Such programs helped the state of Oregon earn an "A" from the 2009 edition of the Colorectal Cancer Legislation Report Card, sponsored by numerous national cancer associations.

Mealey, who has been cancer- free for nine years, said everyone should take advantage of screening services for colorectal cancer, even if it makes them a little uncomfortable.

"No one should suffer from colon cancer, with the screening that's available today," he said.

COLORECTAL CANCER BY THE NUMBERS

2: Ranking among deadliest cancers

12: Oregonians who die from colorectal cancer each week

35: Oregonians diagnosed with colorectal cancer each week

50: Percentage of Oregonians over 50 who don't get screened for colorectal cancer

60: Percentage of cases found in the late stages of the disease

76: Average age of Oregonians who die from colorectal cancer

Source: Oregon Partnership for Cancer Control