General News
16 June, 2025
Call the Doctor - Dr Felix Ritson
Last week, I had the pleasure of having a colonoscopy. Whilst I am hoping that a chucklesome opening sentence grabs your attention, it is also true.
This article will be a description of why I am happy to have had this procedure, thinly veiling my attempt to encourage appropriate medical investigation and screening.
June is bowel cancer awareness month.
You may have seen the large and unpleasant billboard on Stawell Road.
Sadly, it is estimated that 1 in 20 people will be diagnosed with bowel cancer, with it being the most common cause of death from cancer in people aged 22 to 44. This condition is usually very treatable, if not curable, when caught early.
Due to an increased risk within my family, it is recommended that I have a colonoscopy every 5 years.
Colonoscopies are safe, effective, and comfortable thanks to the marvels of modern medicine.
Complications from the procedure are very rare and occur almost exclusively in those with increased risks, namely, being elderly.
My experience was this:
I arrived at the hospital, was politely checked in, had a small cannula inserted into a vein on my arm, fell asleep surrounded by trustworthy experienced professionals, woke up, and went home.
A very small price to pay for peace of mind.
I would like to thank West Wimmera Health Service and the team there for their wonderful care. Having worked in public hospitals in countries, both developed and developing, I am astutely aware of the good luck we have living in Australia.
Whilst people's negative experiences must be validated, listened to, and acted upon, we must recognise that relative to most of the planet, we have an exceedingly excellent health care service that is provided largely free of charge.
Two other benefits I enjoyed, that I'll admit may not be everyone's cup of tea, were a good cleanse, by way of the preparation required, and being able to experience again the miracle of anaesthesia.
It is no coincidence that many scientists and philosophers who dedicate their working lives to the study of consciousness start as anaesthetists.
Aside from being a world-changing invention that has made possible an endless list of surgical interventions with all their life and limb-saving benefits, anaesthesia is profoundly interesting.
The interest starts, with considering that one never dreams, whilst under anaesthesia, and also that one never perceives that any time has passed.
When unconscious, otherwise, we wake with some notion of an amount of time having passed.
This is never the case with anaesthesia, no matter how long one has been chemically sedated for.
It was the invention of anaesthetics that birthed the philosophical consideration of consciousness as a phenomenon separate from attention, wakefulness, sensation, feeling, or thinking.
If you do, or think you might need a colonoscopy, please book an appointment with your local General Practitioner.