Get a Colonoscopy NOW!!

[buickanddeere]

I was a patient for six days on a hospital floor/ward devoted to post surgical recovery of those with cancer etc. It was six days of around the clock moaning groaning , wailing and tears as in "Dante's Inferno". The patients were crying 24/7, family members were crying, friends were crying then it would ratchet up a notch when ever the TV and VCR would be wheeled into a patient's room to watch the video " how to care for your new colostomy bag. The wailing was all the same, "I wish I had went to the Dr. sooner".
I was in there for something else, a hemorrhage after having something checked . Dr said I had no cancer problems and was a perfect @sshole.

 

[TripleR]

Excellent advice and I'm glad you are recovering well. The same thing happened to my brother over a year ago, he waited a bit too long and when he finally went he lost several feet of colon, went through chemo and radiation with regular follow-ups. I get one every two to three years.

 

[Clay45]

The truth is the best chance with any cancer is with early detection. Last fall I scheduled another colonoscopy. Other than the prep the nite before they were nothing to it and my previous one's were always All Clear. This time I went thru the prep, ran clean at home, only to become awake on the table and told they couldn't do, I wasn't clear. Now this was not my first time at bat so I thought the doctor was loco. We rescheduled and he proscribed a different prep. It was even more miserable. Nothing happened so I called in to cancel the procedure. This was followed by a week of loosey goosey and then another week of nausea & vomiting. At the end I was so weak and exhausted I got my wife to drive me to the emergency room. Luckily it wasn't busy and they rolled me back for blood work immediately. Then a CT Scan. Next morning I learned my problems were due to low sodium. This seemed impossible since I enjoy both salt and edema at times. Turns out I had a type of lung cancer that emits a hormone that impedes my body's retention of sodium. Additional tests showed I was at Stage IV Extensive. What a Christmas present.

By January I'd started chemo and by May was pronounced I'd lucked into a full response with the chemo. No sign anywhere and a nuclear bone scan indicated my bones were also mending well. I felt great; especially with my new do...bald as an egg, no eye brows, no eye lashes. Even lucked into no ear hair and no nose hair. No hair. It was great in the morning;hop out of bed, brush teeth, get dressed, and go.

First week of July had another CT Scan which showed I'd already relapsed.

There's so much more to it I won't bore you with but I can assure you that no matter what form of cancer a person gets; its all bad in some way. And your life focuses on the battle. You can waste time crying or wailing about how its not fair or you don't deserve it if you wish but after seeing some truly brave souls wheeled by me I know I still have it better than a bunch of them and mines incurable with current treatments. There are many other dramas and tradegies at every turn and on every floor of just about any hospital. We met out deductible and max out of pocket before the end of January. I still haven't had a colonoscopy and don't know if I can but probably should. Need a skin cancer screening too. With such a short horizon it seems pointless yet the newer immunotherapys seem so promising. If the current study I'm in plays out there's a good chance I'll get immunotherapy. Its almost November. They tell me that had I not chosen to get treatment I would have been gone before the end of February. You never know how things will shape up. Since learning of my cancer I've seen my youngest daughter engaged and then wed. Met and held my 5th grandchild, and I was baptised along with my grandson thanks to the kindness of a wonderful minister at my daughter's church. Its been a remarkable year to date and I'm still shooting for doing more next year.

Keep up the fight. Get tested, screened, examined...and get baptised too.

 

[Bird]

Keep up the fight. Get tested, screened, examined...and get baptised too.

Great attitude, and that helps you, your family, and your doctor.:thumbsup:

 

[orezok]

I had already had mine and my wife's scheduled for the 17th of next month. The family that scopes together...
Well fill in your own retort.

 

[MossRoad]

I'll try and make this short. My last colonoscopy was 13 years ago at age 60, I was clean. I was going to have another at 70 but didn't. Recently in prep for an upcoming physical I did a stool sample test. It came back with some blood in the stool.

I immediately scheduled a colonoscopy. The results were not good, one small polyp, one very large polyp removed in pieces and one very large mass in the ascending colon. I was immediately scheduled for colon surgery, where they removed about 4-5" of the colon and reattached the bowel. The pathology came back cancerous with some small cells just outside the colon that were cancer.

After recovery from the surgery, another 4 weeks I will begin Chemo, 8 sessions every 2 weeks for 4 months. Could all of this been prevented if I had one at 70, probably not, but at least it has been caught and I will move forward.

So, get that colonoscopy on time!

If its any consolation, my father in law is 89. He had a foot of his bowel removed 4 weeks ago. They said he'd be in the hospital 10-14 days. They kicked him out after 5. Said he'd be on liquid diet for several weeks.... he was on solid food three days later. He was mowing his lawn again this week. So the surgery part is probably recoverable quickly if you're in good shape. :thumbsup:

Good luck on the Chemo and good advice for the rest of us.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Stand by when you get to be older. I have a family history of polyps and have had many removed starting around age 60. Had a colo every two years and more showed up each time. Recently asked my DR about a colo. He said Medicare only covers a test every 10 years unless there are specific symptoms such as bloody stools. The Medicare manual states this for those at low risk. I am looking for a new DR.

So much for Government Medical Programs.

Ron

 

[Wagtail]

...

So much for Government Medical Programs.

Ron

I understand where you're coming from, and posting from, Ron. You're referring to a US Government Medical Program.

Things are different in Canada, Australia, the UK. I can't speak for the EU or anywhere else.

Here in Aus, I simply registered with the Gov's Bowel Cancer Screening programme. Every couple of years they mail me a faecal screening test = I do the swabs and mail it back = they inform my GP if all's well or a need a scoping. It's all "Bulk Billed" (no cost to me) and I can have as many 'scopes' as required. I also have Private Health Insurance (kinda like going Business Class to the hospital/specialist), so I'm covered.

Honestly, the cost of the US medical system scares the living H3LL out of me. Even if I'm travelling through (stop-over) the US, I have Travel/Medical insurance with a caveat for the US.

 

[check]

I understand where you're coming from, and posting from, Ron. You're referring to a US Government Medical Program. Things are different in Canada, Australia, the UK. I can't speak for the EU or anywhere else. Here in Aus, I simply registered with the Gov's Bowel Cancer Screening programme. Every couple of years they mail me a faecal screening test = I do the swabs and mail it back = they inform my GP if all's well or a need a scoping. It's all "Bulk Billed" (no cost to me) and I can have as many 'scopes' as required. I also have Private Health Insurance (kinda like going Business Class to the hospital/specialist), so I'm covered. Honestly, the cost of the US medical system scares the living H3LL out of me. Even if I'm travelling through (stop-over) the US, I have Travel/Medical insurance with a caveat for the US.

Yep, things are pretty scary for you guys to the US when it comes to medical stuff. Here in Ontario Canada I met a guy who had travelled to the US and got an infection in his pancreas or something like that, and it was so bad that he had to be hospitalized or he would've died. He was only in the hospital for about four days or so, and the bill came back at over $200,000. He had to sell his cottage here in Ontario, and unfortunately ended up dying anyway, but the point is if this is if it had happened here in Ontario it would not have cost him a dime, and he would have been able to keep his cottage is a legacy for his kids.

Also, a friend of mine who is now over 80 can no longer do his snowbird thing in Florida in the winter anymore, because not only is the insurance getting ridiculously high, but they will deny deny deny coverage if he has any pre-existing conditions. Sad.

 

[ruffdog]

This is a good thread because it shines light on a very important subject. Unlike our tractors, it is imperative that we humans take care of our exhaust.