4 Tips for Colonoscopy Prep

Your colonoscopy may not be your most exciting calendar alert, but it can be one of the most important dates you’ll ever have.

Rafal Barczak, MD, a colorectal and general surgeon at Hartford HealthCare, knows it can be unpleasant, but brings the bigger picture into focus.

“A colonoscopy can save your life,” says Dr. Barczak. “With this perspective in mind, there are some simple steps you can take to get through it easier.”

Turns out, it’s all in the preparation – and we’ve got you covered.

1. Book your colonoscopy

Are you due? Here are the latest recommendations, according to Dr. Barczak:

• If you are at average risk — meaning no family history of precancerous polyps or colorectal cancer — colonoscopy is recommended at age 45.
• If you are at higher risk — you have a history of colorectal cancer or precancerous polyps in a close relative before the age of 60 — a colonoscopy is recommended at age 40, or 10 years before the age of the youngest relative at the time of diagnosis.

But why is a colonoscopy so important?

“One of the most common reasons you’ll have a colonoscopy is to screen for colorectal cancer,” answers Dr. Barczak. “It can help identify precancerous growths called polyps that can be removed before those growths transform into cancer.” Read more