Today my husband went in for his first ever colonoscopy. It wasn't that he was having problems, it was just that he turned fifty. Various medical groups, including the American Cancer Society, recommend colon cancer screening starting at age 50.
He actually turned 50 last year. The insurance company had sent the authorization at his doctor's request. The authorization sat on the counter for two months until it expired. Finally, after much nagging from me and just one month from his 51st birthday, he got another authorization and actually made the appointment.
The entire process wasn't as bad as I had heard from my friends at work. Apparently there are different ways to clean out the internal rectal area, some more drastic than others. My husband was lucky. The method given him was not too bad.
He started two nights before the procedure. As instructed he took four Ducolax tablets before going to bed. The next day he was to take a half bottle of Fleet Phospho-Soda (1 1/2 ounces) at 1 PM. At 5 PM he was to take the second half of the bottle. At 7 PM he was to take four more Ducolax tablets. The second day was to be a liquid diet only day.
From the stories I had heard, the patients literally spent the night on their bathroom floor. This was not our experience. While he did have to go to the bathroom more often than normal he was never in a state of panic about whether he would make it to the facilities or not.
On the day of the procedure he woke up at 5:30 and had to give himself an enema, then thirty minutes later another one. I drove him to the Surgery Center and dropped him off at 7 in the morning. I drove back home to get our son to school. I thought I would have lots of time to be able to make my husband a funny card using the computer. But time flies!
It was just 8:30 when they called me to let me know he was done and would be ready to leave at 9:00. I had just barely finished my second cup of coffee and had not even finished reading the paper yet!
When I asked at the front desk after him, one of the ladies said, "Oh yes, he did really, really well!" They took me back where I sat with him for the last ten minutes. As they were wheeling him out one of the other nurses commented that he didn't even look like he'd had a procedure done.
When I asked my husband about the events he told me they put an i.v. in his arm. He was never totally under but was concious throughout the procedure. He was able to view the maneuvers on a small screen. He said he wasn't sure if it was the doctor or one of the nurses that kissed his bottom when it was all done.
Ah, that's my man!
The good news was his colon is all clear. There were no signs of polyps, no diverticulitis. He won't have to do this again for five years.
According to About.com colon cancer is the third leading cause of death due to cancer. The problem is most people don't go to the doctor until they start having symptoms. This is why I wrote today's story. It's an important health issue for everyone. And it can be totally avoidable or treatable if caught early enough with this simple test.
And, no, they don't really kiss you on the bottom.
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