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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | I know, it’s not pleasant, but it is Very Important.
Colon Screening: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/ped_5.asp
Certainly it's not the most fun I've ever had, but perhaps one of the most important tests I've ever taken!! No problems found....
…. Please, for your sake and that of your loved ones, get screened! |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Good post.
The worst part of this test is the prep. I'be been there. I had a pile of intestional problems diagmosed in 95 so let's just say I am no stranger to that test.
the new drug they have to knock is out is wild. you get very vivid psychedelic dreams. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Well Hell! That's reason enough to get one! |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Let's see...
Preparation is the most difficult part and a real PITA. Not much different than hiring a Contractor, is it Al?
Good one Tim! |
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Joined:
January 2007
Posts: 672
Location: New South Wales, Australia | Thanks Tim....I think...I'm standing as I type this. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | chut chut watto! Get 'er done down under! |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | I've also done that.
Had some polyps removed, diverticulitis also.
Don't put it off.
My dad did not have cancer, but had ulcerative colitis. Went into the hospital in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot. He had a colostomy, then 6 months later an eleostomy. (spelling?) He wore an ostomy bag for the the next 44 years, until he died March 12 of this year.
My point is, don't wait until it is too late. Either until you die, a member of our little band waited to long and died leaving a husband and 2 young daughters, or until you have to have surgery that requires a major change in your lifestyle. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | A xnoel pointed out, this is NOT JUST FOR GUYS! The women in our lives should have this checked as well!!! |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | There are so many tests that one should take....I guess this might be one to start with.... |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5576
Location: big island | this could end up as another hijacked thread about meat consumption, especially pork, but i'll behave... |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 863
Location: Central Florida | Well, since personal circumstances forced me to become somewhat of an expert in the field, let me just add that the medical community at large is all wrong when they say you don't need to be screened until you're 50... That's bullsh*t! If you have any family history at all of colorectal cancer, colitis, Crone's disease, etc., you should start the screenings at 35-40 years of age. Had I done that, my life would be completely different from what it is today.
I was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2004, at age 44. They performed the surgery to remove the tumor, and gave me chemotherapy for six months as a precaution, but guess what... it came back on me last fall (in the lymph nodes and liver), and I've been on a more aggressive form of chemo since then. The effects of my current chemo have been horrendous, the worst of it being neuropothy (numbness, tingling, pain) in the hands, which has at times sorely impeded my ability to play guitar.
On the plus side, my prognosis looks pretty good. I had a PET scan done in February that revealed no apparent cancer, but cancer is a wyly enemy, so really only God knows for sure. But my point in all this is, don't wait until your fiftys to have this test. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | On the plus side, then you can get a 'scrip for marijuana to deal with the nausea and loss of appetite!
Or is that just up here? |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | That's a good point about recommended testing ages and intervals...those recommendations are based on (at least in theory) a stastical analysis that balances the need for early detection against the cost of excessive tests and "false positives". While the result may be optimium for society as a whole, it isn't automatically so for each individual.
In the case of my family, my dad died of pancreatic cancer over 20 years ago, at age 45. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at things) there are really no good early diagnostic tools for that kind of cancer, and even if identified early, it is still an automatic death sentence. The good news is that only one case in 10 is associated with genetic risk factors, and we only have the one case in our family. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | Jeff, one of my playing buddies has had a round of chemo, he had bladder cancer several years ago. Then a few months ago cancer in his leg. Chemo did the same thing to him. He has been unable to hold a pick. Says it feels like sand or grit in his hands. He might try to play bass again. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | I had a scope down the gullet from the other end, and they gave me what they said was the same med as for the colonoscopy. It causes four to six hours of amnesia. I sure hope it wasn't a truth serum also!
A slight swerve OT, be sure to get your PSA screening, and also don't wait to age 50 if there's any family history. Watch for the change in the number, not just the absolute number. My Uncle's life was saved because his doc sent him for further tests due to the upward trend, even though the number was well below the usual threshold. |
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OT Not Fun, but Important
