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Do you have your head up your ass?

Prophylaxis/ Prevention

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/prevention.html

As some are aware--- I was employed actively in healthcare delivery (RN) for over twenty years. Have followed this thread with great interest and presently have a family member recently diagnosed. PLEASE-- reaching age 50-- do TWO things: schedule a colonoscopy-- and make damn sure your GP does a PSA ( Prostate Specific Antigen) test at your annual physical--simple blood test wrapped in with your other blood work. Kill two birds with one stone.

Prevention: As you can read from the enclosure URL-- a preventative diet is inconclusive--but not ruled out. I have spoken with multiple GI docs and most suspect that regular bowel habits ie having a bowel movement everyday reduces the amount of toxins collecting in your bowel awaiting evacuation. A high fiber diet offers additional stimulus to have a daily bowel movement. I have had people tell me that they go three and four days without a BM. I don't understand how that is possible, but I advise them that it simply is not a good practice for a multitude of reasons and they need to change their diet ie more fruits/veggies/ high fiber breakfast cereal/oatmeal etc.

Someone mentioned a female doc. Everyone has the same plumbing. I think after a certain age-- people just don't seem to care, but younger people are more reticent. Medical professionals just don't care--it's just anatomy and they have a job to do and do the best for their patient.

One other thing that is very important. be your own BEST ADVOCATE. If you have something going on-- and you know something just ain't right, see your physician/healthcare provider and tell them. If they don't find your concerns remarkable or of concern-- please--- don't take no for an answer--- tell them that you want the matter pursued because you wouldn't be there otherwise. Someone mentioned that an RN sat up and took notice. Most healthcare practitioners can tell the difference between a frequent flyer and someone that has a legitimate issue-- some have difficulty. Don't be afraid of being assertive--or if push comes to shove--go see someone else. When your GP gives you a referral for a GI guy-- ask: " Is this their specialty, do they do this on a regular basis? Go online and see if you can find if they have had "issues." You can go to the State Board of Registration in Medicine to ascertain if the physician has had past problems. Again--- be your own best advocate-- a knowledgeable consumer.
 
The sad part is the participation. The only ones here are those already affected by it. I might have done the same thing last year. How do you "promote" this. Just like breast cancer awareness. How do we raise awareness when everyone pays no attention.

Hey Chris...first of all, Jim and I are thinking of you and April and Effie daily. Secondly, I haven't been on sc.org for quite some time but logged in this afternoon and read this entire thread....and I thank you for posting this because I'm one of those people. My maternal grandmother and great-grandmother died of cancer in their early 80s that originated in the colon. My mom has had a couple of polyps removed (both in her 60s). I am overdue for my first given that I should be starting early because, you know. I had ACA as a self-employed person and two fellow self-employed people I'm close to got stuck with bills (from colonoscopies) that they shouldn't have. Then I went to airline training. Then I was on reserve. The last two were valid as no way was I able to schedule something during that time with a crazily unpredictable schedule, but I should have scheduled before I even started training. Now I am a lineholder and my March schedule includes 10 consecutive days off to end the month, so I will be calling next week and hopefully scheduling within that stretch. I knew I needed to get the ball rolling and I am just a hair younger than you but not by much. So yes, you have made a difference because I'm finally making the call.

Hang in there.

Sarah
 
How would you like being a "stool analyst!" Talk about dirty jobs!
Guess someone has to do it. Bet it's the junior guy.

Hey, Eddie,

We're called Clinical Laboratory Scientists. I did it for 40 years and loved it. Bacteriology, virology, parasitology, hematology, chemistry, urinalysis, immunology, and immunohematology (blood bank). Stool occult blood analysis is just part of it, and not just the junior guy. Usually girl, actually. Most CLS's are women. I did it a lot even as a lab supervisor in the second busiest trauma center in California.

To the point of the thread: I just had my second one a couple of months ago. Both were done without any anesthesia. The prep was worse in both cases. Don't be afraid of it. It's even pretty cool to watch, particularly with the new HD cameras they use now! 8)

Hey, maybe I should post the video here! :roll:

Tom
.
 
I find it interesting in all of the above posts I can't see the word 'diet'.
Obviously families tend to eat the same meal around the dinner table so is that where 'family history' comes into it, or is it the DNA? Randy?

The 'AVERAGE' American diet is shite, the Australian diet almost the same and having spent a good deal of time in the UK of late the diet there is double shite. (maybe I need a better class of accommodation)

Texmex, exactly! This thread is surely depressing, and as many others have said here, this is entirely preventable!

Cancer is caused by inflammation (could be from a variety of different sources... radiation, UV, chemicals, bad diet, etc), but this one is in the digestive system, which is now dominated by highly inflammatory omega 6 industrial vegetable oils (didn't exist 60 years ago and do not occur in nature) and processed carbage!

Fiber is a red herring -- the dogma of fiber as a "healthy" was totally invented back in 1971 by Denis Burkitt (a contemporary of fraudster Ancel Keys who did the anti-saturated fat "7 countries study" that conveniently left out a whole bunch of other countries for which the data didn't agree with his conclusions). He went to Uganda and came up with a "study" that showed this one native tribe didn't get heart disease because they ate some fiber. He ignored other tribes in the same area that also didn't get heart disease but didn't eat any fiber! Like the Ancel Keys fiasco, the one also took off due to a powerful alliance of politicians, medical establishment, and the food industry.

See more info here:



To make matters worse on the colon cancer front, now you have pill pusher doctors prescribing statins for everything! Why is this related? Because these dangerous drugs are designed to interfere with critical liver and cellular function to decrease LDL-C levels in the blood, under the false premise that this will reduce the risk of heart attacks (when in fact statins actually increase heart attack risk: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25655639).

Cholesterol is an anti-oxidant that is used to repair inflammatory damage (LDL-C is the delivery mechanism to the cells where it is needed). That includes inflammatory damage in the bowels! Here is a discussion with links to multiple scientific studies about this -- showing that LDL-C levels are inversely correlated with colon cancer: http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/search/label/Colorectal cancer and cholesterol

The bottom line is that to reduce your risk of colon cancer, eat real food that our small digestive systems were meant to eat -- which includes healthy doses of animal fat (loaded in nutrients that are hard to get from other sources, like D3, CoQ10 and K2) and anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids (especially DHA & EPA) to counter inflammatory omega 6's. Avoid vegetable fats and processed carbage (which makes up about 80% of the content of your average supermarket today).
 
Was this in a Key West hospital?

Glenn
Come on Glenn. You're on this site every day. Have you had a colonoscopy? Serious question.

I'm sorry to those who who think I'm suppressing humor. I think I deserve to have time devoted to a serious matter. Making light jokes will surely be a way of bringing up this matter around friends and campfires.
 
Come on Glenn. You're on this site every day. Have you had a colonoscopy? Serious question.

I'm sorry to those who who think I'm suppressing humor. I think I deserve to have time devoted to a serious matter. Making light jokes will surely be a way of bringing up this matter around friends and campfires.

Sorry, was just picking on Randy not on your important message. And at 61 I'm still unexplored

Glenn
 
Started at 40 due to family history and now every five years I make the appointment for the technician screw a light bulb in the end of a garden hose so the Dr. can tell me to relax and when it finished I live easier knowing that what's unseen has been seen.

Actually, the science is pretty interesting. My firm finished a large Gastro clinic last year with multiple procedure suites plus expansive prep and recovery spaces and all I can say is it's impressive and there is no excuse.

We've all lost way to many friends to colon cancer so for me it's modern medicine at its best combined with ever better eating habits (less chemicals and fast foods) for a combined to all of the above approach!

Do it
 
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I'm not sure where they get this crap, but I can't find any links to actual science on that website, and it also repeats a lot of stuff that has been totally debunked. Here's a couple of actual scientific studies regarding meat and colon cancer:

[h=1]Meat, fish and fat intake in relation to subsite-specific risk of colorectal cancer: The Fukuoka Colorectal Cancer Study[/h]Excerpt: Our findings do not support the hypothesis that consumption of red meat increases colorectal cancer risk but do suggest that high intake of fish may decrease the risk, particularly of distal colon cancer.

[h=1]Meta-analysis of animal fat or animal protein intake and colorectal cancer[/h]Excerpt: On the basis of the results of this quantitative assessment, the available epidemiologic evidence does not appear to support an independent association between animal fat intake or animal protein intake and colorectal cancer.
 
I can't remember all of Chairman Mao's prescription for good health in his little red book, at the time demanded of half of the world's population. I believe China was turning out doctors in six months for The Great Leap Forward. I mused that's about all the education needed if Mao's rules were followed: lots of exercise, lots of water, lots of green leafy vegetables, keep you bowels clean. Can't remember about meat. The country appeared to take it to heart, from the looks of those slender bodies on the streets today. Mao himself not so much although he lived to over 80. I attribute my old age to positive outlook, exercise and notions that smoking is poison and all the rest should be taken in moderation.
 
Hey, Eddie,

We're called Clinical Laboratory Scientists. I did it for 40 years and loved it. Bacteriology, virology, parasitology, hematology, chemistry, urinalysis, immunology, and immunohematology (blood bank). Stool occult blood analysis is just part of it, and not just the junior guy. Usually girl, actually. Most CLS's are women. I did it a lot even as a lab supervisor in the second busiest trauma center in California.

To the point of the thread: I just had my second one a couple of months ago. Both were done without any anesthesia. The prep was worse in both cases. Don't be afraid of it. It's even pretty cool to watch, particularly with the new HD cameras they use now! 8)

Hey, maybe I should post the video here! :roll:

Tom
.

TJ

The GI guy that did my last one found some polyps and knew I would be interested in seeing them and watching the removal. He backed off the versed and/ or ketamine and I was almost 100% conscious and he showed me what he had found and went through the removal procedure as I was watching and asking questions. When he had completed the task he upped the amnesiac/sedative and I went out again, but I had some recall.


TC
 
My first exam many years ago I watched on a monitor and he removed some polyps, the last one I had the Dr. in his business suit watched the monitor and a young lady did the procedure while I was out. He did send me home with a bunch of pictures, I did not take them to the coffee shop for show and tell. He did tell me to come back in six years but, I believe I will be beyond the cut off age of 75 or so.
 
I've been checked out twice. Right before I retired I went and had the 200,000 mile check up. It was a comprehensive physical. When you get older you have to listen to doctors. I have recently adapted a new diet that is completely plant based. I hope it will last as when the nice wx hits I usually have something going on the smoker. It's expensive to eat healthy unless you have a green thumb. If you have netflix watch "Forks over knives" if you haven't already. Big eye opener.
 
I'm not sure where they get this crap, but I can't find any links to actual science on that website, and it also repeats a lot of stuff that has been totally debunked. Here's a couple of actual scientific studies regarding meat and colon cancer:
Well, I was wondering what you would think of that site...His main talent is to make a cogent brief documentary, but his philosophy has some issues. Right now I'm trying to de-conflict his vegan philosophy to the ketogenic approach. I see what I believe is confirmation bias, but when you see that, it can just be a reflection of your (my) own.
 
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I've been checked out twice. Right before I retired I went and had the 200,000 mile check up. It was a comprehensive physical. When you get older you have to listen to doctors. I have recently adapted a new diet that is completely plant based. I hope it will last as when the nice wx hits I usually have something going on the smoker. It's expensive to eat healthy unless you have a green thumb. If you have netflix watch "Forks over knives" if you haven't already. Big eye opener.
https://www.forksoverknives.com/
 
My dad died of cancer very young.I have had comprehensive physicals yearly since I was 30(65 now).First colonoscopy at 50 and clean as a whistle, next in two weeks.Never smoked,no alcohol in 40 years.I walk 4-5 miles a day and eat a Normal varied diet and LOTS of water.I can honestly say I feel as good or better now than I did as a teen.I have a strong desire to see my grandkids grow up and and I can still outrun them.
Please take your health seriously if not for you then for your family and others who care about you.
Bill
 
Well, I was wondering what you would think of that site...His main talent is to make a cogent brief documentary, but his philosophy has some issues. Right now I'm trying to de-conflict his vegan philosophy to the ketogenic approach. I see what I believe is confirmation bias, but when you see that, it can just be a reflection of your (my) own.

Yes well... here is one study that shows vegetarians have higher colon cancer rates than meat eaters: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2009/03/11/ajcn.2009.26736M.abstract

But as you know I *hate* epidemiological studies that rely on questionnaires of what people eat! And these "meat eaters", for sure they are not on ketogenic diets (which probably is only practiced by less than 1% of the world's population in modern times)! When they eat meat, it is likely in a giant bun with sugary ketchup, omega 6 mayonnaise, a large side of fries and a giant Coke loaded with high fructose corn syrup!
 
Sorry, was just picking on Randy not on your important message. And at 61 I'm still unexplored

Glenn

I waited to 69 to get my first one. I just didn't feel right about somebody poking around in my exhaust pipe and I had convinced myself if I refused to be sick, I would not be sick. After all I believed my willpower had reversed diabetes from insulin injections to being normal, 5.1 A1c. Then the nagging from wife, relatives, friends, doctors, and insurance companies caused me to doubt my ability to control my destiny. Anyway I had one large polyp, almost 3 inches yes a big one, in the rectal area. The doctor performing the colonoscopy would not remove it because he was concerned I could easily end up with a colostomy bag and he didn't want that on his watch. Now my bowels were in a mess, probably psychological because now I was worried. Cancer maybe? Colostomy bag? A specialist at the Cleveland Clinic was recommended. Many dollars later the surgery went fine, the polyp was benign, my sphincter still works, and taking a poop is back to normal. If I had got this done earlier when the mass was smaller it would not have been near so disruptive to my life and pocketbook. On the lighter side I now tell everyone I got two colonoscopies that day in October. What? Did they screw up the first one? No, I just got my first one and my last one at the same time. jrh
 
My wife's son is 38. His father died of colon cancer at 31, which means he should have started screenings at 25. He did not. Believe it or not he works as a radiology tech, but kept putting off his colonoscopy. I backed him in a corner and put my finger on his chest and said, "You have a child now, you need to think of her, and I for one am not doing the "cancer support thing" again." He got his colonoscopy and they found 3 pre-cancerous polyps. It saved his life. Do not delay these things.



Goodforyou,GeeBee.
 
Booked one thanks to Chris and Randy. When the nurse asked where I wanted it scheduled I used the line I stole from this thread (I think): I want to be knocked out like a Grizzly getting a radio collar. She hadn't heard that before. Last one was too many years ago. I knew the anesthesiologist and I told him that when he asks me to count from ten backwards that I didn't want to get to 9. Ten was the last I thing I remembered.

A friend is prepping for one Monday. I told him I hope everything comes out alright.
 
Do I need to troll you to get one done? I will be happy to.

Health Tip:
If you can't afford a doctor, go to the airport - you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and; if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll get a free colonoscopy

I'm looking for a cheap airfare


Glenn
 
I waited until 58 and had 3 polyps removed. 70 now and clean. Please don't wait. My sister is 67 and won't have it done. :-( I've lost a couple friends who went through hell.

Yea, tell them to use sufficient knock out drops. My first one I was waking-up as he was removing the instrument....what scared me was it felt "ok"....:roll:

Jack



PS If you are cheap come to 1W3, I have a new Harbor Freight inspection camera.
 
Health Tip:
If you can't afford a doctor, go to the airport - you'll get a free x-ray and a breast exam, and; if you mention Al Qaeda, you'll get a free colonoscopy

I'm looking for a cheap airfare


Glenn

So what you're saying is you're too cheap to do one? Or is that you can't afford it?
 
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