The End of My Cancer

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 16 August 2010 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[rustbucket]

Good for you, and thanks for encouraging folks to have colonoscopies. How frequently were you having them?

My father died of colon cancer, and I have been having a colonoscopy every five years since then. So far no polyps.

I had a friend who died of colon cancer in his 40s. He had been having colonoscopies very frequently because he had lots of polyps. Family history of cancer.

[onyx]

God bless you, Congressman Billybob!

Thank you for posting your experience.

[Tuxedo]

OK - what is “that certain age”? About to turn 45 and don’t want to miss out on the excitement.

[roaddog727]

Re: Versed - Amen brother.

[ModelBreaker]

“The tests for these cancers, especially colon and breast, are obnoxious.”

I can compare the test for colon and prostate cancer from personal experience. A colonoscopy is really low key compared to a prostate biopsy.

[ModelBreaker]

Congrats. There are more and more of us cancer survivors every year. I look forward to your FR contributions for many more.

[wagglebee]

Wonderful news John!

[Netizen]

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/295/20/2357

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2009/06/15/colonoscopy-risks-increase-with-age-and-illness.html

[sima_yi]

Sorry to hear about your mom. I lost my dad to lung cancer a few years back. It's a terrible way to go.

Chemotherapy is no picnic, and it's not perfect, but it is better than it was. Our scientists are continuing to work to make it better. Pray for them.

[penelopesire]

Great News!
Thank you for reminding us all to get those tests.

[Paine in the Neck]

Glad to hear the good news, BB, and you are spot on with the admonishment that early detection is key.

[George from New England]

I also think I remember our GP telling us that there would be signs in the blood work associated with a physical exam that would indicate the need for a colonoscopy.

Any thoughts there?

[repentant_pundit]

The absolute worst part was the day before, drinking that gak...

Yes, that is the worst part of a colonoscopy.

But drinking that liquid and "cleaning out" my digestive tract was easy, painless, and trivial compared to many many other things that I and most people my age (51) have endured over the years.

Be a good example, guys. You're tough. Skip the complaints, enjoy the break in your routine, and show your family how easy a colonoscopy really is!

[MHGinTN]

Watch out for that Versed stuff. It is an amnesia drug and a significant number of poeple have more than temporary memory problems from its use. The 'effective dose differs widely' for different people is the problem. When I go for oral surgery or a colonoscpoy, I always tell the attendings that I do not want any Versed or any other amnesia drug. The procedure is vertually painless, merely a discomfort during the scoping. If you eat bland for a day or two after having the tunnelv iewed, even the local of polyps removed is nothing uncomfortable.

One side effect of no Versed is remembering faint clips of conversation between the doctor and the attending nurses as the procedure unfolds. It is amusing, or at least the comments from my doctor were amusing ... the scope is on a long tube which goes all the way around your colon tract, all the way to the location of the appendix (looking at someone, that is up and around the right side of their tummy, across to the descending otherside of the tummy; appendix local is lowewr left, looking at someone). Doctors have various nicknames for the little polyps they encounter during the tunnel view. My doctor calls them 'peekers'.

John, I have recurring bouts with diverticulitis (about every two or three years, I will eat things I shouldn't, and get the stomach ache, bad stomache ache). Because of that, my doctor wants me in for a tunnel view every five years. When I turn seventy, he says the procedure needs to be done every two years, and after eighty, every year.

On a side note, JOhn, are you familiar with 'high colonics'?

[jagusafr]

Hooah, Billybob! Great news.

Colonel, USAFR

[jagusafr]

I read it right AFTER my first (and only, for another 10 years!) colonoscopy. Just about DIED laughing - it was so completely spot-on!

Colonel, USAFR

[redhead]

Congratulations! I join you as a long-time survivor. I survived breast cancer in 1994. Since that time I have been cancer-free, and am even a rare-blood donor at this time. Cancer CAN be cured!

[mass55th]

Thanks for sharing your very good news!! I started having regular Colonoscopies several years ago because my father had two instances of polyps. No polyps have ever been found, but I was diagnosed with diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome. A little over four weeks ago I ended up having emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. I had gone to the emergency room for what I thought was a reaction to an antibiotic that had been given me for a bladder infection. Twelve hours later I had been operated on and given a temporary colostomy. I'll be having a colonoscopy in the next couple of months. If all checks out, I will then undergo a reversal.

Frankly, the worst part of having a colonoscopy is having to drink that crap to clean your system out. The last time I drank it, I upchucked it all. I ended up having to drive to the pharmacy to find a different type. All the time I was praying that what little had stayed in my system, didn't start working before I was able to get back home.

[reagan_fanatic]

Glad to hear you’re OK!!

[Domangart]

Get that PSA test every year, it save me.