CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Colonoscopies are a valuable tool in discovering health problems before it's too late. But now, early detection doesn't have to be, oh, quite so unpleasant. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen tell us about a new procedure that could make you feel more comfortable going to the doctor.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How would you like to see your colon in 3D? Well, you might not want to, but your doctor probably does. A study done at three military hospitals shows that this new virtual colonoscopy, using a C.T. scan, catches polyps even when they're small. In fact, it worked as well as the kind people get today to detect polyps that could turn into colon cancer, and the new kind is less, shall we say, invasive. You still have to have a tube inserted, but not nearly as far. Other benefits of this 3D virtual colonoscopy? No sedation is needed. There's virtually no risk of perforating the colon and it takes about 10 minutes, instead of about an hour. The down side? Money. It costs about $1,000 and right now insurance won't pay for it. Also, not many doctors are trained in how to do these 3D scans. And the new one, while it worked well in this study of 1,200 patients, doesn't have the same track record as the old kind, which has been used on millions of patients. So you may well have to wait to get a movie made of your colon. In the meantime, get the regular kind of colonoscopy at age 50, or even earlier if you have a family history of certain colon diseases. Only about a third of the people who are supposed to get colonoscopies actually get them. Doctors hope this new technology, once it's widely available, will change that. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
New Procedure That Could Make You Feel More Comfortable Going to Doctor