"Doctor, do we really need the 'grand harbor tour'?" This is how many patients ask when they register for a colonoscopy. And nobody really looks forward to it. Many people are afraid of the examination, of pain, and perhaps also of the diagnosis.

It's completely understandable—and yet, in most cases, unfounded. Colonoscopy can often prevent one of the most common types of cancer—colon cancer. Every year in Germany, more than 50,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer, and about half of them die from it. But it doesn't have to be this way. Colon cancer develops very slowly. From the first, still benign growths, the polyps, to the onset of cancer can take years, sometimes decades. If polyps are discovered during the examination, they are removed immediately, and the danger is averted. All of this can happen pain-free in a short, light anesthesia if you wish. If you want to stay on the bridge during the 'harbor tour' and watch the proceedings on the screen—that is also possible.

In Germany, all women from the age of 55 and all men from the age of 50 are entitled to a preventive colonoscopy. If you have individual risk factors, such as a family history of colon cancer, the examination can be done earlier. And of course, if you have symptoms like pain, bleeding, etc., a colonoscopy can be performed at any time. Whether this applies to you will be determined in a personalized preparation consultation.