Colon Screening: 5 Things You Need to Know

Colonoscopy Con't...

Once the doctors got Mom's renal functions going again good, she finally had a bm and her NG tube was removed. Her oncologist wanted the surgeon to operate on Mom's intestinal blockage and kept pushing the surgeon to do so? I found out about it and I fired the oncologist, in front of God and the entire staff on that floor of the hospital. I told the oncologist, you may have killed my brother, I'll be damned if you kill my mother too! Mom was transfered to a wind of the hospital where they lease the wing out to another heathcare agent. The wing look drab, unkept, and was smelly. I wasn't happy with the facilities but for a lack of a better place for Mom, I told her to just stay overnight and I'll be back tomorrow, that the surgeon would probably discharge her. This facility neglected my mother the entire time she was there. They didn't feed her for dinner or breakfast, didn't give her any water or anything else to drink, did't empty her bedside commode and didn't even bother to check on her over night! Mom calls me the next morning and she told me about the staff not feeding her, and etc. I told her to hang on, I'd be right there. I inturn, called her surgeon but couldn't get him, so I called the administrator of the facility. I told the woman to disconnect my mother's I.V. and have her things packed, that I'd be there in about 5 minutes to pick her up. I got up there, the administrator stated that she'd have to call Mom's doctor, I told her good luck because I had already tried, and walked on to Mom's room. Nothing had been done, as I had requested. I had to go find a wheelchair for Mom. And I packed her things up as well. Then the administrator came up to me and asked me, can I ask you a question? I said yes. She asked, was it something that we did? I was so mad I wanted to knock the woman out, I kid you not but I didn't. I stated loud enough for all staff members to hear, that no, it wasn't what you did...it was what you didn't do...which was to take care of my mother! My God, you didn't feed her or give anything to drink or empty her bedside commode or check on her in the past 24hrs!!! I wouldn't leave an animial in this smelly, nasty place. By that time, a nurse had disconnected Mom's I.V. and I put Mom in the wheelchair and away we went with her things packed up and in her lap. I put Mom in the car and I got a my office chair to get her into the house, since we didn't have a wheelchair. Its a good thing that I had had 15yrs of in-home healthcare mgt. Otherwise, I don't know that I would've been able to care for my mother and know a lot of the terminology and terms, etc. I took Mom out of that rented facility place on a Saturday and Monday morning, I had her in the surgeons office, getting the port removed. He himself, was upset over the treatment that Mom had recv. He said that he didn't blame me for taking her out of there. I've taken care of Mom, ever since that very day, 01/17/2004 and I haven't regretted ever having done so. Con't...

Colonoscopy

There is also a genetic disorder that people should be checked for if colon cancer exsists in your family. I too had a brother, who was misdiagnosed and treated for venereal worts. This is very common too. If the person is misdiagnosed and then treated for veneral worts...by freezing the worts...it will spread like wild fire. My brother died within a year from the time that he was misdiagnosed. He found out 5 months later that he had terminal, stage 5 colon cancer that was not operable. He took every known chemotherapy and radiation til he was burnt. My brother did everything known and suggested by a crew of doctors and died, not quiet, 11 months later at the age of 31. My brother and I were not only brother and sister but best friends all our lives.

My mother, developed stage 4 colon cancer...said she was terminal too. She had 3ft. of her colon removed. The cancer had also touched her liver and bladder. The surgeon also did a bladder repair, while he was there. She went through 8 treatments of chemotherapy before she has a reaction and was taken off of the I.V. type of chemotherapy. We applied for the drug, Xeloda, a pill form of chemotherapy used for breast and colon cancers. With the Xeloda, you take the pill once per day for 14 days and then off for 14 days. The Xeloda, is like $2500. for one bottle of horse pills, 5 1/2yrs ago. Anyway, on the 2nd round of taking Xaloda, on the 3rd or 4th day, weak and not able to hold any liquids or food down, Mom complained that her leg hurt. So I gave her a pain pill and told her I'd check on her in an hour, that I was going to go lay down, since I'd been up all night, cleaning her up. After an hour, I checked on Mom and I asked how her leg felt and she said it was ok, but her foot was killing her. I jerked back the cover, over her feet, and I saw one foot that was pale in color. It looked like it belonged to a dead person. I told her not to move and call for an ambulance. I followed and told the ER doctor that I thought that Mom had a blood clot in her foot. The doctor, who was real calm and in no hurry, stated, yeah, her foot does kinda look funny. I was floored. Finally, when he couldn't get a pulse in the foot...they rushed Mom to ICU and dropped 9 different bags of fluids in her. This all happend on Christmas Day of 2003. About a week later, after the doctors had dissolved the arteral blood clot, Mom was was moved to ACU. Now, Mom hadn't had anything to eat or drink for a week now. Next thing I know, the doctors are concerned that Mom isn't eliminating any BM's. They dropped an NG tube and it stayed there for another week and a half, all the while Mom was asking for ice chips or just anything to moisten her mouth. I finally told the surgeon, that she was going to have something to drink that the NG tube would just suck it all back out anyway, and he agreed. Mom went into renal failure, and so I called in a specialist for that, and he got her renal functions going really good again. Con't...

How much does a colonoscopy cost?

Whether you are insured or uninsured, it is very difficult to determine the true cost of your procedure and what your out-of-pocket costs are going to be. There are a number of consumer price transparency tools available today to help people understand the true price of specific services, look up average costs, find out what other consumers paid for similar services and hopefully help you find the best value. These tools are not the silver bullet, but they are certainly a step in the right direction towards providing price transparency in health care.

A list of some of these price transparency tools can be found on the blog www.outofpocket.com/blog.

I look forward to my yearly exam

I am 57 and have been having a colonoscopy done once or twice a year for more than 15 years. I also had double-contrast barium enema done twice which is more uncomfortable than a colonoscopy. And I have had an upper GI done twice. I have ulcerative colitis which can lead to colon cancer if not treated and closely monitored. After losing a brother and sister to colon cancer I know the importance of early detection. If they had had a colonoscopy done before they had to be hospitalized for removal of cancerous colon they would not have died of colon cancer. The procedure is not painful at all. The most pain I incountered was getting the IV neddle in my arm and that only last a few seconds. If you are between 40 and 50 years old I strongly suggest you discuss this with your doctor to see if you are at risk. If you are over 50 get it done to have a baseline and to know your condition.

Colonoscopy

Had one yesterday for the first time at age 65. Yeah, I know, why'd I wait so long? I'm not sure you covered all the sedation options. I was lightly sedated, enough that I was forbidden to drive, but was fully alert, carried on conversations & watched the monitor the whole time. Based on the discomfort level (ok, but not a good time) I'm not sure I would choose to go with no sedation. It was enough to make me tense up 3 or 4 times, quite bearable the rest. Polyp removal was totally painless.

Not just for people over 50

I had my first screening at the recommendation of my doctor at age 29. I had been suffering from IBS and constipation. On my first screening they found only about 2 or 3 polyps and thankfully they were benign. I am getting ready for my 4th screening, and in total they have found 12 pre-cancerous polyps and about 20 hyper plastic ones. Sometimes it is best to follow a doctor's recommendation rather than the guidelines which are meant for everyone. People are different and if you are having bowel problems, don't be embarrassed, just see your doctor and see what he/she thinks.

I put it off for 10 years

I was homophobic and didn't want anything being shoved up my anus - in case it may change me into a homosexual. Then I came to the realization that it's better to be gay than to die from colon cancer. I had the procedure done without anesthesia because I didn't want any funny business done when I was knocked out, and I wanted to make sure the doctor and nurses didn't make me the brunt of their surgical procedure butt jokes. It wasn't so bad and was painless. I passed a lot of gas later, but I took the rest of the day off from work. The report was negative and I have a copy of my colonoscopy report with color pics for my memories. And I'm still straight...

it is the easiest screening ever!

I put off my colonoscopy for 2 years. The whole idea of it made me queezy. Now that it's over I can report that it basically it was the nicest nap I've had in a long while. And I got the rest of the day off to relax!

As compared to mammograms and other screenings, this one is a breeze!

My results were good and now I don't have to wonder if everything's okay.

To review, relief from wondering if I'm healthy plus a lovely nap and a day off work; pretty good for a medical procedure.

Stop thinking about it! Just do it!