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Gastroenterologists bash CT colonoscopy in letter to Obama
(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- News that President Obama received a clean bill of health from a virtual colonoscopy several days ago rubbed influential gastroenterologists the wrong way.
On Monday the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) fired off a letter to the president stating that “while a ‘virtual’ exam is better than no exam, for most people, colorectal screening by colonoscopy is the preferred strategy.”
“Our 11,000 physician members are concerned that you missed an important opportunity to set an example of the power of prevention by taking the test proven to prevent colorectal cancer by polyp detection and removal,” said the letter signed by ACG president Dr. Philip O. Katz.
Not only has the president done a disservice to the nation, Katz asserts, he has particularly hurt African Americans, he said.
“Evidence reveals that African Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a younger age, and African Americans with colorectal cancer have decreased survival compared with other racial groups,” he said.
Dr. Perry Pickhardt, who nearly a decade ago set up the CT colonography program at Bethesda Naval Hospital where the president underwent CT colonoscopy, called the letter “unbelievable.” Pickhardt, now a professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said he thinks the ACG is trying to bash virtual colonoscopy to protect its “cash cow.”
On Monday the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) fired off a letter to the president stating that “while a ‘virtual’ exam is better than no exam, for most people, colorectal screening by colonoscopy is the preferred strategy.”
“Our 11,000 physician members are concerned that you missed an important opportunity to set an example of the power of prevention by taking the test proven to prevent colorectal cancer by polyp detection and removal,” said the letter signed by ACG president Dr. Philip O. Katz.
Not only has the president done a disservice to the nation, Katz asserts, he has particularly hurt African Americans, he said.
“Evidence reveals that African Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a younger age, and African Americans with colorectal cancer have decreased survival compared with other racial groups,” he said.
Dr. Perry Pickhardt, who nearly a decade ago set up the CT colonography program at Bethesda Naval Hospital where the president underwent CT colonoscopy, called the letter “unbelievable.” Pickhardt, now a professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said he thinks the ACG is trying to bash virtual colonoscopy to protect its “cash cow.”
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