http://bradfordonbeer.com/2010/01/14/loss-of-a-friend/ Just another weblog Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:35:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://bradfordonbeer.com/2010/01/14/loss-of-a-friend/comment-page-1/#comment-902 Phyllis Dodson Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:53:32 +0000 http://bradfordonbeer.com/?p=475#comment-902 Hi. I am a registered nurse at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. I work in the GI/Endoscopy clinic where we do colonoscopy exams. I am always so sad to hear of any person's death from colon cancer, especially so early in life. Colon cancer is a very 'preventable' cancer, and I encourage everyone to have their screening exams starting at age 50. If any of your first degree relatives (i.e. father, mother, sister, brother) has had colon cancer, you need to start your screenings earlier depending on the age they were when they were diagnosed. If there is any family history of colon polyps or colon cancer, you should discuss this with your family physician, as you may need to start your exams earlier in life. People say the worst part of colonoscopy is the preparation and that's right! We give conscious sedation for the procedure, and believe me, you won't remember a single thing about it. (I don't remember mine at all.) Because you get sedation, and you could test positive for narcotics up to 24 hrs after you receive them, you have to have someone to drive/accompany you to and from your appt. I can't tell you the precentage of people who have polyps. What I can tell you is, you think you would know if you had a colon cancer, but I would say most of the patients we find with large polyps, cancer, or almost totally obstructing lesions, aren't having any symptoms or problems at all. I realize co-pays are going up, and health care in general is undergoing a lot of changes. A colonoscopy is a routine screening exam just like mammogram, pap smear, prostate check, etc. so don't 'put it off'. It could save your life! Hi. I am a registered nurse at Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. I work in the GI/Endoscopy clinic where we do colonoscopy exams. I am always so sad to hear of any person’s death from colon cancer, especially so early in life. Colon cancer is a very ‘preventable’ cancer, and I encourage everyone to have their screening exams starting at age 50. If any of your first degree relatives (i.e. father, mother, sister, brother) has had colon cancer, you need to start your screenings earlier depending on the age they were when they were diagnosed. If there is any family history of colon polyps or colon cancer, you should discuss this with your family physician, as you may need to start your exams earlier in life. People say the worst part of colonoscopy is the preparation and that’s right! We give conscious sedation for the procedure, and believe me, you won’t remember a single thing about it. (I don’t remember mine at all.) Because you get sedation, and you could test positive for narcotics up to 24 hrs after you receive them, you have to have someone to drive/accompany you to and from your appt. I can’t tell you the precentage of people who have polyps. What I can tell you is, you think you would know if you had a colon cancer, but I would say most of the patients we find with large polyps, cancer, or almost totally obstructing lesions, aren’t having any symptoms or problems at all. I realize co-pays are going up, and health care in general is undergoing a lot of changes. A colonoscopy is a routine screening exam just like mammogram, pap smear, prostate check, etc. so don’t ‘put it off’. It could save your life!

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