Question: My husband is on blood thinners. Several years ago he scheduled a colonoscopy, was told to stop the blood thinners, he did and had a stroke before the test was even performed His cardiologist warned him against stopping the blood thinner for any period of time. He has had 2 strokes previously His primary care doctor wants hime to have a colonoscopy , my husband declined. The doctor now suggests the ColoGuard test, but if that comes back positive , it still requires the colonoscopy. This is a catch 22. If the non in-invasive test comes back positive, is there another method to check for cancer (MRI?) that would be non evasive? He is 77 and just this past month has shown a vey slightly elevated PSA test (to be retested in 6 months). He has had three colonoscopies in the past and the first one had a benign polyp, the last 2 were clear.

My husband feels the pressure of the colonoscopy relates to the slight PSA increase and because it has been almost 10 years since last colonoscopy

No there are no symptoms

I do not know the hemoglobin level but he was told the blood work was OK with the exception of the PSA

At age 77, with two prior negative procedures in the past, good bloodwork numbers and no symptoms....does this seem like an urgent requirement?
If they were to find a polyp, they couldn't remove it so what would happen next?
(He has needed a knee and hip replacement for years but has to eliminate surgery due to this clotting issue. He had the A-fib corrected surgery after the first stroke, but when the second stroke occurred it was discovered that there is still another arrhythmia which dictates the strict use of the Eliquis).

Thank you.