Robotic arms help doctors see better. Here at Rochester General Hospital, they're used in a unique way.

"We are one of the few places that does robotic surgery for colon and rectal problems," said Dr. Steven Rauh of Rochester General Hospital.

The robot arms are most often used to help with prostate cancer surgery and hysterectomies. Using this tool on colon cancer instead caught the attention of Discovery Health Channel, who asked to film Dr. Steven Rauh for a documentary. Dr. Rauh says it's a great opportunity to share what he's learned with the medical world.

"Having so few surgeons using this tool for colon-rectal surgery means that there aren't textbooks of robotic colon-rectal surgeries," said Dr. Rauh.

Rauh and his team are the only surgeons in New York who use the tool, and Rochester is one of 5 training centers in the world. Dr, Rauh thinks that may be why Discovery came to Rochester.

"Their main reason for doing this is to help promote colon and rectal cancer awareness, and the best approach to that is screening," said Dr. Rauh.

That may someday put Dr. Rauh out of practice.

"Ironically, the best outcome of the national publicity that has come from the discovery network coming to Rochester for this is hopefully to put us out of surgical business," said Dr. Rauh.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and affects both men and women. The American Cancer Society estimates that 106,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with this cancer this year alone. Dr. Rauh says you should be screened when you turn 50, or earlier if your family has a history.