The UPS truck just roared down the driveway and a package was delivered. Strange, since my only expected shipment isnt due until late next week. Examining the box shows it has the ColoGuard logo on it! Someone wants me to ship my poop somewhere for testing! Nope. Had a real poop chute exam late last year with the whole colon blow and tiny camera experience. So, without being opened, Cologuard goes into the dumpster!
I guess this is a money maker for someone. But I will pass!

I looked into it, never interested in cologuard.

I've done the Cologuard instead of the colonoscopy, mostly an issue of convenience. I don't have anyone to drive me back from the procedure, so pooping in a bucket is easier. No issues.

Yooper, some doctor had to have ordered it for someone.

No shit?

I got one of those last year. I also threw it away and the very next day at work we received an email from our insurance carrier that said that they were the ones who had it sent to everyone, we should go ahead and send it in and it was all paid for. Oh well.

ColoGuard doesn"t just send you the kit. It was ordered by your doctor.

Update:
Curiosity got the best of me and I opened the box. No clue inside as to who actually sent the box to me, just rather elaborate instructions on proper crapper modifications and pooping instructions. A return label is provided but, again, no info on who sent this thing to me. Just a lot of info on the outfit that runs the operation, a company called Exact Sciences out of Madison WI. Instructions call for me to return the thing to them via UPS prepaid. The UPS Store is a short jog from me so I will take it there and ship it back to them. Empty. They paid for it so its the least I can do!
Upon opening my email this AM, I got a message from Exact Science (not a doctor or insurance company) telling me that they knew I received my test kit and were looking forward to getting it returned. As to those of you who mentioned my Doctor must have ordered this for me, I dont think that applies. I have VA health care and it was my VA Doc who set up my recent poop chute movie, so I think the VA is uninvolved.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:
I've done the Cologuard instead of the colonoscopy, mostly an issue of convenience. I don't have anyone to drive me back from the procedure, so pooping in a bucket is easier. No issues.

Yooper, some doctor had to have ordered it for someone.

I started doing Cologuard at 50 and have done 3 so far. It's definitely a viable alternative unless you have a close family history of colon cancer at a very early age.

A picture is worth a thousand turds!

I got one of those and it was sent out by my health insurance company. Enclosed was a note explaining it would be less expensive to preventive care than pay for much more extensive care later down the road.

I don't know, maybe get some poop from a baby diaper and send that in. Or some cow patty.
.

Per their commercials false positive and negative results are possible. Knowing that, I'd question the validity of whatever results they sent me. Just load some cat turds into the return container and let hilarity ensue.

quote:

Originally posted by 64dodge:
Per their commercials false positive and negative results are possible. Knowing that, I'd question the validity of whatever results they sent me. Just load some cat turds into the return container and let hilarity ensue.

Yep, their Fase Positive expectations are kind of high for my liking. I used them three years ago, sent my poop in and doc got a clean report. This year, time for another so did the same, but got a note back from the doc that there was a "possible indication" and I had to schedule a colonoscopy anyway, which I did. the colonoscopy was so clean that the doctor told me I am good for 7 years! So, yeah, I would say that was a false positive. And then I get the bill from my health plan that since the colonoscopy was done as a result of a diagnostic finding, it was not fully covered as a preventative procedure, to the tune of $750 that I now had to pay. Thanks Cologuard! I feel like pooping in a box and just sending it to them just to get my money's worth.

I don’t think that the box can identify and remove polyps for you before they become cancerous.

And I have also heard the same thing that PghPI said about insurance not covering the colonoscopy after paying for the box.

All that aside, I have family history of colon cancer so I’m a regular at the colonoscopy clinic.

They've found benign polyps during both hemorrhoidectomy and colonoscopy 3 years later so I'm not a candidate for cologuard.

I did a little research on Cologuard and it appears that if you take the poop box test as a noninsured "patient", the cost is... $500! So this has to be a money maker for someone, just not me. I wonder what UPS drivers think about hauling around boxes of poop.

quote:

Originally posted by PghPI: And then I get the bill from my health plan that since the colonoscopy was done as a result of a diagnostic finding, it was not fully covered as a preventative procedure, to the tune of $750 that I now had to pay. Thanks Cologuard! I feel like pooping in a box and just sending it to them just to get my money's worth.

The payment issue has been resolved fairly recently.

"New federal guidance released in January will soon require health insurance plans to fully cover the cost of a follow-up colonoscopy to evaluate a positive result from an MTs-DNA stool-based test (Cologuard) as well as a fecal immunochemical test (FIT)."

Probably a stupid question, the package was addressed to you, right?

Yep... Correctly addressed to me. No other info as to who wanted it sent to me or who would have gotten any test results it may have generated. I would hope the results would have been shared with me.

I read two studies from European medical groups and the ColoGard false positive rate was absurdly high (like greater than 50%) when they followed the patients up with a colonoscopy. Probably not a good screening test for my money.

RMD