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He's talking about colorectal cancer screening. A tweet he wrote this morning caught my eye:
"At work, not feeling well. Tried to convince co-workers to get screened for colorectal cancer, maybe they can avoid this pain and discomfort."
The father of three had few of the usual symptom associated with colo-rectal cancer and at 34, was not a candidate for the screening. Yet his hope is that those of us who CAN be screened take the opportunity to do so.
My two cents worth? I scheduled my first colonoscopy at MD Anderson when I was 46 since my breast cancer diagnosis and family history raised my risk to some degree. Let me tell you something. This is nothing. A pap smear feels more invasive than a colonoscopy, if that helps you at all. And the prep? I think it's designed for people who weigh 250 pounds and eat hamburgers and french fries. I rarely eat red meat, enjoy a lot of fruit and vegetables and the prep wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.
If you want to understand more about the procedure colon cancer advocate and CBS anchor Katie Couric talks with Harry Smith before his procedure at: http://bit.ly/bO3m8E
For more terrific information go to the ColoRectal Cancer Coalition: http://fightcolorectalcancer.org/
Nip a cancer in the bud (butt)... so to speak. Like breast cancer, if caught early colon cancer is easily treated. The physician can remove the cancer by scope before more invasive surgery is necessary, and before the cancer has spread. Do what you can.
Livestrong,
Jody
Photo courtesy of C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition.
6 comments:
Dear Jody,
Great blog (again),lets hope people are smart enough to follow your wise advice and get checked out. Thanks for enlightning me. Big hig, Annemieke
I hope so too, Annemieke. It's bad enough when people who don't have any risk factors end up facing cancer; worse if people can get screened but don't because of fear. That is really tragic. Thanks for reading,
love,
Jody
Can't wait until I'm old enough to get my first colonoscopy! (Polyps runs in my family and it's always a family affair when my dad has his) :)
Elizabeth,
That's terrific. Now quick, go tell all your friends:)
And one thing I forgot to mention: you take a great nap during the procedure and don't remember a thing. Also, when DH had a follow-up two months ago he had a regimen of pills instead of the "golitely" Koolaid (what a name, eh?)
jms
Great post Jody, thanks for sharing this great information and nice to hear first hand from someone who has had a colonoscopy.
It's good to remind women that there is more than just your breasts to get checked. I appreciate your links, which led me to another helpful article.
A great video to check out made about an inspirational cancer survivor, Kathy Delaney-Smith who used the same philosophy she used to beat cancer as she did to take her Harvard Women's basketball team to victory.
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