Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Spring 2018

You have choices Different tests can screen for polyps or colon cancer. A colonoscopy—the most accurate test—examines the rectum and entire colon for polyps or cancer. A similar test, called a flexible sigmoidoscopy, examines the rectum and lower third of the colon. Alternatively, you can do a stool test at home, using a test kit from your doctor. Be sure to talk with your doctor about which test is right for you—and when to start screening. People with a higher risk of colon cancer may need to start testing before age 50. Several different factors might raise your risk, including a family history of the disease or precancerous polyps. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention If everybody 50 or older had regular screening tests, the number of U.S. deaths from colon cancer would be greatly reduced. New robot at Mercy Hospital Downtown treats patients with colorectal cancer With help from a robot, doctors at Mercy Hospital Downtown now have a new way to treat colorectal cancer. Bakersfield colorectal surgeon Lorenc Malellari, MD, used the new da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system for the first time last December to treat an 82-year- old man with colorectal cancer. With the robot, the procedure can be performed using small incisions, which means a much shorter recovery time. How a robot helps The da Vinci Xi uses tiny tools attached to robotic arms to make very precise movements. Every move is controlled by the surgeon working the system. And close-up images of the surgery can be seen in real time on a video screen. Robotic surgery can be done through smaller incisions, compared with open surgery. That can mean: ●  ● More precise surgical movements. ●  ● A lower risk of infection. ●  ● A shorter hospital stay. ●  ● A quicker recovery. The da Vinci Xi robot resides in the new S.A. Camp Companies Robotic Surgical Center, where it’s used to treat cancer and other conditions. It was funded, in part, through generous donations to the Friends of Mercy Foundation. Learn your risk factors. Take the colorectal cancer risk assessment at dignityhealth.org/bakersfield/hra .