As many of you know, I am very passionate about why colonoscopies, colon cancer screening and early detection are so very important.
Colon cancer can be very preventable if caught early.
Why should you get a colonoscopy? For me, that is an easy question to answer. A colonoscopy saved my life.
In 2003, I was having bleeding issues due to uterine fibrosis. My OB/GYN felt I needed a hysterectomy, but I put that off.
I then went for my annual physical with my primary care physician, and he was concerned about my anemia and low blood volume. He asked that I get a colonoscopy.
I thought, “I don’t need a colonoscopy. After all, I’m only 46 and have no family history of colon cancer. My hemoccult slides were negative, and I was not having any problems in that department.” (Sometimes nurses can be the worst patients.)
However, I went to get my colonoscopy, and a good-sized tumor was discovered. My physician called to give me the pathology results and after the news of “Mary, it was malignant” sank in, I panicked and cannot begin to tell you how I felt when I heard those words, particularly since I had lost my 37-year old sister to a malignant brain tumor eight years before.
My physician removed the tumor through the scope, but there was no guarantee that it was not in the lymph nodes, so I had a colon resection, lymph node dissection, total abdominal hysterectomy and appendectomy.
Thankfully, I did not have any lymph node involvement and did not have to have any additional treatment.
I have taken it as my personal mission to get the word out on early detection via colonoscopy. I do it because death from colon cancer is so preventable if caught early. I do not want anyone to lose their life to this disease and become another statistic.
My second example is a friend of mine who had turned 50 and, of course, I began to call him often about getting his scope.
His response was, “I’m fine.” And I said, “Yes, you think you’re fine, but look at me. I was not even 50, and I had an issue.”
I guess he got tired of my calls, because he called me one day and said, “You will be happy, I have my scope scheduled.”
I thought, “Mission accomplished,” until I got a phone call from him saying, “I have to thank you, you saved my life.” He had a malignant polyp and it was small enough that it was handled with the scope.
