The Awful
Colonoscopy
#colonoscopy #colorectalcancer #coloncancer
#colonoscopy #colorectalcancer #coloncancer
Yesterday I began
my preparation for a colorectal exam that consisted of a liquid diet all
day—Gatoraid, bouillon, jello, and any clear liquids. Then, at 6:00 p.m. I had
to begin drinking 1/2 gallon of some God-awful lime drink that would make me
evacuate my entire insides by daybreak. This morning I have to drink the other
1/2 gallon, beginning at 6:00 a.m. Needless to say, I was up all night. Oh my
God. I’m in pain and exhausted, and I haven’t even had the rotten exam yet. The
cycle began at midnight and still hasn’t ended.
The truth is: the
odds are certainly in my favor to NOT get colon cancer, but the last time I
took a friend to get his colon exam, he actually HAD colon cancer. And that was
on the heels of one of my best friends dying within that same month of
stage-four colon cancer—because she didn’t get the test. One year later, one of
my best friend’s sisters died of the same disease because she thought the pain
in her side would go away for a year. When the pain was severe enough, she had
gotten the deadly diagnosis of stage-four cancer. I’m afraid to get the test,
just like most people are afraid of the HIV test. Who wants to wait for a
result that may be positive? Add to a simple waiting game, this 2-day
evacuation regime, you begin to understand my agonizing remarks.
In this day and
age, as we get older, we are more
likely to get colon cancer. From 40 to 50 years old, our chances double. But,
the risk is still 69 men and 53 women out of a 1000 will get colon cancer this
year. Though these numbers don’t look daunting, when you have watched very
healthy people suffer and some die from waiting for that colonoscopy, you tend
to wonder why you prolonged your test.
All of my doctors
are currently in a teaching hospital in Nashville, Vanderbilt University
Hospital. It’s a great hospital with wonderful doctors. My Internal Medicine
doctor, for the past 8 years, has been someone on a two-year rotation, still
working under another supervising doctor. I like this because, then, two
doctors get to check on my statistics. But, every two years, I have to get used
to a new primary care physician. Even that isn’t so bad. Then, I get the
opportunity for a new person so see me with a fresh set of eyes and an even
newer understanding of medicine. I say all this because my physician is leaving
in June of this year, and I promised him I would get a colorectal exam before
he left his rotation. Today is the day.
Damn it, if I
didn’t schedule the exam at noon. Now I have to wait all morning drinking only
this terrible lime liquid that I will probably dream about for the next week.
I’m not hungry, because I’m bloated from drinking so much. Truthfully, I don’t
believe I have cancer. I haven’t felt anything wrong with me or have had any
strange pains, which makes the process a little easier. I’m thankful for a dear
friend who will go through this with me, as I had gone with a few friends in
the past. That one solid rock praying for your health and knowing the best for
you is important. If you go through this, make sure you have a good friend by
your side.
Interestingly
enough, there are ways to prevent colon cancer. They seem to resemble a heart
healthy life: 1. Don’t smoke. 2. Take an occasional aspirin. 3. Avoid red meat.
4. Don’t binge drink. 5. Get enough calcium and Vitamin D. 6. Get your waist
size down. 7. Eat black raspberries. 8. Exercise. 9. Get screened. 10. Know
your family history. 11. Consider genetic counseling. 12. Drink green tea.
Let’s see, I do
nine of those 12 things. I should be okay. At least, that’s what I’m telling
myself. Knowing your self, your habits and your propensities to diverge from
your own truths and dictums is all about finding your authentic self.
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