Foo - Get tested for colon cancer!!

My favorite uncle just died of it yesterday (well, he was my only uncle on my mum's side, but hey, still my favorite). He just turned 48 last Dec 11 and now he's dead. He left behind a wife and three young kids. :(

I've been coming to terms with it in my own way over the past day, but now the grief is hitting me. It's horrible news to hear on new year's day so I kinda pushed it to the back of my mind. My mom heard the news right after she landed back here after visiting family, including him, in the Philippines. He died while she was on the flight, and she's devastated that she was not there for his final moments, when if she had left just a day later, she could've been there for him.

He was an oncologist, well versed in the prevention and treatment of cancers, but this disease still struck him. He did several months of chemo, but it was still not enough to beat back the disease. My mom said that even as he was in the ICU, he was still pretty lucid and in control of himself and what treatments were being done to him. In the end though, his body just gave out.

So yeah, just a friendly reminder to get tested for colon cancer.

:(

A good reason to avoid eating cheese, and have plenty of fiber in your diet. Not to mention avoiding contact with asbestos.

Oh wow, Neko... I'm so sorry to hear that. :(

Did the colonoscopy stuff a month or so back, and everything they say is true.

The prep work is pretty gruesome, and the gunk they make you drink is gaggably vile.

But the procedure itself goes by in a drug induced cloud, and really is painless.

The 50+ forum has a great thread on this very subject. For those who are nervous about the colonoscopy procedure, some of the postings in the thread go into detail about what to expect. Basically, the worst part of the whole procedure is the "cleaning out" beforehand.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss... and thanks for the words of concern.
:hug:

The 50+ forum has a great thread on this very subject. For those who are nervous about the colonoscopy procedure, some of the postings in the thread go into detail about what to expect. Basically, the worst part of the whole procedure is the "cleaning out" beforehand.


Yes Sir, the preparation is the worst part. The actual Colonoscopy, while sedated, is a non event to be followed by some of the best sleep you will ever have the pleasure to enjoy.

The 50+ forum has a great thread on this very subject. For those who are nervous about the colonoscopy procedure, some of the postings in the thread go into detail about what to expect. Basically, the worst part of the whole procedure is the "cleaning out" beforehand.

You're not supposed to know this. :p

I actually have mine scheduled for 2 weeks from today.

Nekohime - I'm sorry about your uncle. I lost my favorite uncle 27 years ago at age 41 to a different form of cancer.

Just pray you don't have to follow up with a barium Enema.

:(

A good reason to avoid eating cheese, and have plenty of fiber in your diet. Not to mention avoiding contact with asbestos.

Uhh... huh? Cheese? And doesn't asbestos go after your lungs? I'm confused.

Neko... my condolences. It's always hard to go through something like that.

Yep. get tested. My wife's cousin fought colon cancer for a year and died at 10PM this xmas eve. my wife's dad died of cancer on the day after xmas (13 years ago). needless to say, my wife doesn't have strong feelings about the xmas holiday these days.

During a physical have your internist or GP do a test to check for blood in the stool. I tested positive and when I had my colonoscopy they found one polyp and removed it. I go every three years now and I try and eat right and exercise.

Ladies and Gents please do not be embarased to go get checked. Found early, colon cancer is extremely treatable. Go get checked!!!!

Yep. get tested. My wife's cousin fought colon cancer for a year and died at 10PM this xmas eve. my wife's dad died of cancer on the day after xmas (13 years ago). needless to say, my wife doesn't have strong feelings about the xmas holiday these days.

:(

My condolences, Niko and ILUVUK- I'm very sorry for your respective losses. Yeah, get tested. The current guideline is based on the somehow magical age of 50, but if symptoms appear earlier, or if you have a family history, or if you have a history of bowel issues, then a colonoscopy is in order. A couple of points:
1. The prep ain't all that bad- it's basically high-potency Miralax, which means a bunch of very watery BMs- anyone who's drunk the water in Mexico can relate, but without the cramps.
2. Yeah, asbestos can cause cancer (mesothelioma) in the digestive tract. Asbestos fibers can be absorbed through hand-to-mouth contact (think dirty hands on a sandwich at lunch break, or on a cigarette, after working with asbestos).

I'm so sorry, Neko. :(

During a physical have your internist or GP do a test to check for blood in the stool. I tested positive and when I had my colonoscopy they found one polyp and removed it. I go every three years now and I try and eat right and exercise.

Ladies and Gents please do not be embarased to go get checked. Found early, colon cancer is extremely treatable. Go get checked!!!!

Not having health insurance rocks...:rolleyes:

Damn. I'm so sorry to hear that.
This hits home. My bro-in-law was 39 when he died. Also left 3 very young daughters behind. Also colon cancer. 3 years ago. Friggin sucks to see a loved one die so slowly and you can't do **** about it.

Sorry to hear that Neko. My 2 colon cancer acquaintances were sub-50. One is sub-10 actually.

Yes Sir, the preparation is the worst part. The actual Colonoscopy, while sedated, is a non event to be followed by some of the best sleep you will ever have the pleasure to enjoy.

+1

I had one at around 35 just for the hell of it (doctor wanted a baseline to compare with as I got older).

I certainly would pick many other things I'd rather do on a sunny afternoon but it's really no biggie. Get it done, people.

Neko, so sorry for your loss. Thank you for stressing how important this early detection can be.

Damn. I'm so sorry to hear that.
This hits home. My bro-in-law was 39 when he died. Also left 3 very young daughters behind. Also colon cancer. 3 years ago. Friggin sucks to see a loved one die so slowly and you can't do **** about it.

It really does suck to watch a loved one die of a chronic disease. I myself didn't see him when the disease struck, as I was an ocean away, but my mum was telling me about how during Christmas, my uncle was so weak, couldn't eat any of the food, and he had wasted to around 120lbs...I remember him as a strapping 5'11" buff guy, always full of energy, always challenging me to do more and think more, and occasionally taking me to watch interesting surgical procedures he was doing. I just can't imagine him as a frail, sick man, and I guess that's a good thing--I don't have to be hurt so much by images of him suffering.

Just pray you don't have to follow up with a barium Enema.

Had that done to me.


Did the colonoscopy stuff a month or so back
that too

and a stigmoidoscopy. That one they don't sedate you for... :p I'd rather have a hammer crack the bones in my arms into a million pieces rather than have that again. Ouch.

Sorry for your loss, Neko.

I was pretty young when my grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer, so I don't know the details other than that he survived it and survived the rest of his life cancer-free (he ended up dying of a heart attack while digging a trench at almost 91 years old). I can only assume that it was caught early enough that the treatment was effective.

It really does suck to watch a loved one die of a chronic disease.Indeed.

Cancer ****ing sucks.

Sorry to hear this, neko. I lost my dad to colon cancer. He didn't get checked, but I sure as hell do.

And folks, remember, if you've got it in your immediate family, you need to get started on screening by the time you turn 40, if not earlier.

Sorry to hear this, neko. I lost my dad to colon cancer. He didn't get checked, but I sure as hell do.

And folks, remember, if you've got it in your immediate family, you need to get started on screening by the time you turn 40, if not earlier.

Yeah, it was a rude awakening for my mum's side. All the siblings got tested (all are over 40), and thankfully results are negative for cancer.

I had one at around 35 just for the hell of it.

For fun? :twitchy:

not fun, but there were funny moments. If you wanna recreate part of my experience make sure you watch the escape scene from The Shawshank Redemption beforehand, and then make sure you can see the monitor when they start crawling through your plumbing.

So sorry to hear that, Neko :(. I don't know what to say other than I hope your family might find some comfort in the memories you have of your uncle. Take care. :hug:

Sorry about your uncle, Neko. And thanks for the warning. Couple of months ago they thought I had colon cancer because of the internal bleeding that wouldn't stop. Had to get checked out.

jusr for the record mine wasn't for fun - I had a very small bleeding problem. But my doctor said - you don't need a colonoscopy at your age. I persisted and asked whether it would be of benefit to do one anyway and he said, yes - even if there was nothing wrong it would serve as a baseline. I was about 36 at the time; I would have been getting one at 40 in any case.

My insurance covered it, I am pretty sure, but I would have paid anyway. Turned out my bleeding was nothing and everything looked great, thank goodness. (Fiber ftw)

If anyone reads Neko's thread and is thinking they should have one but is hesitating, please please please just do it. Even all the typical prep stuff to clean you out has been updated so you have options there. At worst those things are just brief, temporary, uncomfortable and annoying, not painful.

If it helps, my experience was the previous day of drinking a lot of goo...big deal. The day of, there was a second or two of mild pain at the start, and the rest was just a blur....i fell asleep after 5 mins at the most. Woke up a few hours later, no pain, no problems. The worst part of my whole procedure was they gave me a nurse who didn't know how to start an IV so he was jabbing me a lot beforehand. But that was totally unrelated to the colonoscopy.

when you weigh the minor irritation and discomfort versus the potential life saving benefits, this is a no brainer. All proctology jokes aside, men should get their prostate checked regularly as they get older. I don't look forward to the finger but it feels great when they tell me everything checks out okay....if one day it doesn't I hope we'll have found it early enough to take care of it - and the more regularly and prudently you stay on top of this the better chances for that.

Thank you again, Nekohime, for being selfless enough in your time of personal grief to think of your friends here.

Eartha Kitt just died from this

:(

A good reason to avoid eating cheese....

There's never a good enough reason not to eat cheese.

I turn 40 this year, is that about the age when you should 1st get screened?

There's never a good enough reason not to eat cheese.

I turn 40 this year, is that about the age when you should 1st get screened?

I believe so, and then 5-10 yr intervals thereafter. This will be affected by your current age (more frequent as you get older) and family history (higher occurrence=more screenings, possibly annually) as well.

They usually say at 50 years, but, if you have changes in your bowel movement or bleeding or other symptoms, you should get one. My doctor's office said that you need a primary relative (mom, dad, sibling) or two secondary relatives (grandparents, for example) with a history of colon cancer, or, something like a change in bowel movements or other symptoms to trigger a colonoscopy. I'm not sure if it's insurance or diagnostics (or both). Your doctor/state/insurance may vary. Ask. A good friend who is not yet 50 was diagnosed with colon cancer. He has a history of food allergies, and thought it was more food allergies.

There's never a good enough reason not to eat cheese.

I turn 40 this year, is that about the age when you should 1st get screened?

Yeah, cheese is awesome.

The magical age for testing is 50, dunno how they figured that out, but if you do have a family history of cancer, are showing some of the symptoms, or have other risk factors, get checked early.

They started at 35 with me, I've already gone through 3.

Colonoscopies > Barium from either direction.
Liquid lead cocktails are just not good, and the barium colonic--gonna have to say I prefer the camera colonic w/valium.

Valium makes me feel all funny. :)

Neko, I'm sorry for the loss of your uncle.

Thanks for the well-wishes folks...my family from the Philippines just called and said that my uncle is was cremated yesterday. All of us are devastated, but my grandma is feeling the worst; she feels guilty about the fact that she survived a near miss (the reason my mum went home was because of this--we thought she wasn't gonna make it through xmas), but my uncle did not. Survivors guilt :(

All of us are devastated, but my grandma is feeling the worst; she feels guilty about the fact that she survived a near miss (the reason my mum went home was because of this--we thought she wasn't gonna make it through xmas), but my uncle did not. Survivors guilt :(

that's so rough. Sorry Neko.:(

jusr for the record mine wasn't for fun - I had a very small bleeding problem. But my doctor said - you don't need a colonoscopy at your age. I persisted and asked whether it would be of benefit to do one anyway and he said, yes - even if there was nothing wrong it would serve as a baseline. I was about 36 at the time; I would have been getting one at 40 in any case.

I'm surprised they were hesitant. I had my first one at 19 years old. It's always fun being 30+ years younger then everyone at the doctors offices.


Ladies and Gents please do not be embarased to go get checked.

I would just like to stress this. I had to hound my parents to get checked. They would always come up with excuses about being too busy for fear of embarassment. In my personal experience a routine colonoscopy is nothing for them as far as akwardness. I have been to 2 different colorectal surgeons over 50 times each. They see so many people and so many different problems that you have nothing to be afraid of.

And Neko, best of luck.

Sorry to hear this....


A friend of mine went in the hospital and it turned out to be colon cancer, he never went home. Just 3 weeks later he was dead. I've seen the inside of plenty of colons, and I'm in no hurry to get scoped I have two more years before I let them take a peek.