Today's the fourth anniversary of the death of actor Chadwick Boseman. He died of colon cancer on August 28, 2020; this was less than 3 months after I'd been operated on for the same disease (and survived); so I feel some strange sort of link.
If you're 45 or older, you really should get a colonoscopy. About 1 in 25 people get colon cancer, and a larger number (up to 2 in 5) get growths that can potentially turn cancerous. In their pre-cancerous form they're easily removed.
If you don't get checked for colon growths, however, and they do become cancerous tumors, they can grow without being noticed for years; and when they are detected, it is sometimes too late to do anything about it.
Prepping for a colonoscopy is no fun, but it's a heck of a lot easier and safer than having a large piece of your digestive system cut out. Don't treat it as something optional.
@DavidSalo I had my first colonoscopy early this year at age 52. I had no symptoms and no problems of any kind, but they found and removed two precancerous polyps. I'm very thankful I had it done. Prepping isn't the most fun thing, but it isn't the worst thing in the world either, and far better than full blown cancer.
@JasonStiff @DavidSalo I had my first colonoscopy at 48. My second one at 56. Had another one last year at 61 along with an endoscopy at Presbyterian. They found a tiny neurofibroma between my colon and intestines. They referred me to UNMH due to my autoimmune issues from lupus. Luckily the tumor is still very small,18 months later.
@Iveyjanette1 @DavidSalo I'm glad it was found and taken care of!
@JasonStiff @DavidSalo Yes! I have to go to the hospital for a PET scan in two weeks. Luckily I didn't have to undergo surgery to remove part of my colon and the tumor. That would have been life-threatening.