Colonoscopy

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

My mother died when she was sixty-three years old of colon cancer. She had smoked at many times during her life, though I think she may also have been genetically vulnerable to gastrointestinal cancer. Her father suffered from esophageal cancer for 11 years before he died at 61. (I remember that my grandmother used to feed him through a funnel she inserted into a hole near his navel. A portion of his esophagus had been removed, so he was unable to swallow anything.)

Three years ago during my first colonoscopy, four polyps were removed. In November of this year I had another one. Five benign polyps were removed this time. I won't have to have another procedure for four years.

The preparation for a colonoscopy is an opportunity to get in touch with your normal eating habits by suspending them for a few days. The goal is to cleanse the length of the colon enough to make visible its interior walls. In order to achieve this one must take a series of laxatives and liquids over a period of 8 or 9 hours. During this time and for several hours afterward, one is virtually a prisoner of the bathroom, enduring a variety of mild discomforts.

The colonoscopy itself is not particularly difficult for the patient since a sedative is used during the procedure.

The American Cancer Society recommends screening for colon cancer for everyone 50 years and older. I am hopeful of persuading my brother and sisters that yesterday was the day for a colonoscopy.