Health officials use giant colon model to raise awareness of a killer cancer that’s almost completely preventable

March is colorectal cancer awareness month, so what better way to draw attention to colon health than with a giant inflatable colon.

A giant inflatable — what?

That’s right. (Think children’s bouncy house.) And that’s what Peconic Bay Medical Center and Cancer Services Program of Suffolk County did this morning.

The huge walk-through colon was inflated in the main lobby, where PBMC gastroenterologist Mark Coronel and colorectal surgeon Brett Ruffo gave tours and talked about colon cancer risks and the simple exam that would save more than 30,000 lives each year if everyone over age 50 got screened. Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.

Among those touring the inflatable colon at PBMC this morning was Dr. James Tomarken, Suffolk County health commissioner, who afterward signed a pledge to get Suffolk’s screening rate up to 80 percent by 2018. It’s currently 73.7 percent, according to Gabrielle Andrea of the American Cancer Society.

“We want people to know how preventable colon cancer is,” Maureen O’Connor, executive director of the Cancer Services Program said. “We also want them to know how easy the screening is.”

An initial colonoscopy is recommended for everyone age 50 or older. Once it’s done, most people won’t need to have another for 10 years.

It’s a simple procedure that takes about 20 minutes as an outpatient. It requires a one-day fast the day before and a bowel cleanse on the eve of the appointment. The patient is lightly sedated to induce sleep. No general anesthesia or intubation is required.

The doctor inserts a tiny camera by way of a thin tube into the patient’s bowel and examines it for any irregularities or growths called polyps. If polyps are found, they are removed using another tool attached to the same thin tube. The polyps are tested for cancer cells.

“It’s completely painless,” Ruffo said.

“Someone very close to me lost his life to this disease because he didn’t get screened,” Ruffo said today. “There is no reason not to get screened,” he said.

Ruffo said noting he believes the thing that holds people back is fear. “Fear not just of the procedure but of the diagnosis,” he said.

But it’s not an “ignorance is bliss” situation, the doctors say. Most polyps discovered during a colonoscopy are not malignant, but many will become malignant if left in place.

That’s why colon cancer is almost completely preventable — colonoscopy finds and removes polyps before they can become cancerous. And it is the best means of early detection.

“It’s not a death sentence,” Tomarken said. “It’s a way to prolong your life.”

O’Connor noted that people find talking it embarrassing to talk about colons and bowel function. “It’s just a topic people want to avoid,” she said.

There was no avoiding the inflatable colon taking up most of the waiting room area in the main lobby this morning.

“I didn’t realize it was quite this large,” O’Connor said.

It’s presence prompted exclamations of surprise, followed by the inevitable giggles, from people exiting the surgical pavilion elevators — underscoring O’Connor’s point.

“We need break down that barrier and talk about colon health,” she said.

“It’s something we’d like to see all doctors discuss with their patients,” the health commissioner said. “It’s very important to get the message out.”