NOT FOUND: getting to the bottom.jpgWe are actually talking about your colon, but it will eventually involve your bottom. While I am not a medical doctor, I do have some valuable information from real life situations that I would like to share with you. It is my hope that this article will prompt some of you to make an appointment with your physician and perhaps even be encouraged to make healthier lifestyle choices.
My mother-in-law, June, went in for a routine exam a few years ago when the doctor recommended a sigmoidoscopy.
Here is where the problem began. A sigmoidoscopy allows doctors to view only the lower part of the colon. Her tests came back clear. As time went on, she developed severe abdominal pain and began to lose weight rapidly. Because she thought she was in the clear following the results of the sigmoidoscopy, she did take her time before going through with the next exam.
When she did make the appointment to see her doctor, he immediately ordered a complete colonoscopy, where the scope examines both the upper and lower sections. Their concerns were confirmed. She had colon cancer. The cancer had already spread to local lymph nodes and the liver. June was in stage four cancer at the time of detection.
If you know anything about the statistics for surviving liver cancer, you know that it was a miracle that my mother-in-law survived. Not only does she have a praying son and daughter-in-law, but she is in a class by herself when it comes to determination and fight. Thankfully, she is living cancer free and as feisty as ever. I mean that in an endearing way. She is not a quitter!
I have another friend who was under 30 years old at the time she began having some intestinal problems. She went to her doctor who ordered a colonoscopy. There were pre-cancerous polyps which would have taken her life quickly had she not gotten the exam. Thank God for a doctor who is not moved by the age of a patient before prescribing a life saving examination.
Please don’t take this information lightly. There was only one thing I dreaded when I turned 50, and that was getting a colonoscopy. I am not sure which I was more anxious about, the slimy, viscous liquid you consume to “clean out your system” the night before the exam, or the fact that a doctor was going to probe my bottom in front of a host of onlookers. Nonetheless, I was squeaky clean and got the, “See you in ten years.” Those five words were music to my ears.
Now, my husband has had to have a colonoscopy every five years because of his family history. He also had to have his first before he was 50. So, if you are fifty or over, or if you have family members who have been diagnosed with colon cancer, please see your doctor for information about a colonoscopy.
Be aware that colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in American men and women. More than 100,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The timing of detection is critical. For the one third or so new cases found in the early stages, 90 percent of the patients live at least five years after the diagnosis and many live much longer. For patients with cancer that has spread to distant parts of the body such as the liver or lungs, the five-year survival rate drops to below 10 percent. With these odds, it's important that people catch colon cancer in its early stages.

Along with visiting your doctor for a complete physical, consider revamping your diet to include more fiber. Your colon will appreciate the good care and you can get a clean bill of colon health report from your gastroenterologist as well.