Colon Screening: 5 Things You Need to Know

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I was going to have a colonoscopy in 6 months, but got laid off.
My company went under, so no COBRA coverage. I have crappy high deductible insurance that won't cover the $3500.
It's a nice thought to encourage people to get screening, but be aware more U.S. citizens like me can't afford this type of screening. If Congress gave us all the coverage they have, we would be a much healthier nation. Oh Well-maybe I'll move to France and get the health care I need.

Paul of WA 3:45AM March 23, 2009

I enjoy being with my Mother, each and everyday,that God allows me to have her. Mom will turn 75 come her birthday this year. I'm proud of her for being such a trooper. All of our efforts paid off and she enjoys life again. We don't worry about the what ifs, the what fors, what the future holds for us anymore. We enjoy our lives, once again, each day that we're given. So, don't ever give up...there is a light at the end of the tunnel, with some cases, and I've had both in my family.
Another thing about colon cancer. If you end up with renal failure by chance from the chemotherapy like my Mom,...you cannot have a colonoscopy anymore. The regiment schedule for the colonoscopy would tax the renal functions too much and acute renal failure could happen. One of Mom's oncologist order her a colonoscopy without my knowledge and when I got home, and Mom told me what the doctor had ordered? I looked at the paper work and looked at Mom. What do you think? She said I don't know? I asked her...do you think you can do this? Mom said, what about my renal functions? I continued to help her realize, that she cannot have a colonoscopy anymore. So now, I don't have to worry about Mom's health, even when a doctor isn't aware of all of her conditons. She knows what she can and cannot do. Good luck and God bless

lindilu ashbury of NH 2:47AM March 13, 2009

Mom does really well today. She's totally recovered from incontenance and doesn't have to wear diapers/pull ups, anymore. She couldn't wear the cheaper brands because she'd breakout with a rash...so she could only wear the expensive name brands. Although Mom still has early stages of renal failure, I control that with her diet.
Doctors don't tell ya everyting you need to know about how to care for such patients and this one was a first for me, so I researched. I used the Mayo Clinic's website for all of the information that I needed. Then I took that information and researched all of the different foods and food's nutritional values. I also have a book called Healing Foods and also an illistrated encyclopedia of herbs. Mom's diet ended up being the following...
No fruit, Limited-No meats, No dairy, no processed foods including salt and sugars or preservatives/additives, no city water, no this and no that. I thought, OMG! What will I feed her? Its easy and I did the diet with her for the 1st 2yrs myself, to help her and encourage her, to eat her diet.
Any fresh vegetables, raw or steamed.
Whole grain breads
Whole grain pastas
Whole grain cereals
Brown Rice
Nut/legumes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
No canned vegetables because they do not have enough nutritional values to them. I allow simple proteins even though the Mayo clinic stated no protein but they didn't list simple proteins which are different and react differently within the body. Besides, Mom has to have something for energy. If the food is a vegetable, I let her have it.
Mom eats lots of salads chaulked with all kinds of fresh vegetables and homemade salad dressings made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil only. This keeps her arteries healthy and clear, as well as her thinning skin more moist, and since EVOO has antioxidant properties, it keeps any cancer away too. And she eats those fresh frozen mixed vegetables, like the Italian mix, Oriental mix, and etc. Put those steamed vegetables on a bed of rice or pasta, serve with some whole grain bread, and she's good to go:) This diet is quick, easy, inexpensive, and most importantly, is the most nurtritious for Mom.
Unfortunately for Mom, her intake of liquids are limited up to 32oz of fluids per day. Mom usually drinks 2 cups of coffee each morning, 6oz of Iced Tea with her lunch as an antioxidant and filtered water or fresh spring water, for the rest of her daily limit.
Mom walks most days, around a good country style block...which is longer than a city block, to prevent any blood clots from forming. Mom socializes 2 a wk at her church and at a senior citizen center, 1 a week. So I keep her busy and active. I continued to have her creatine levels checked routinely and also her annual scans for cancer, up until last year, her 5yr anniversary of being cancer free. Her newer oncologist stated that he no longer needed to see her but that if she should have any changes, to contact him immediately. Con't...

lindilu ashbury of NH 2:34AM March 13, 2009

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...

lindilu ashbury of NH 2:01AM March 13, 2009

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...

lindilu ashbury of NH 1:31AM March 13, 2009

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.

Mona of IL 12:10PM March 05, 2009

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.

Huey P. Williams Sr, of LA 3:02AM March 05, 2009

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.

John Owen of OR 6:57PM March 04, 2009

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.

Bianca of AK 5:36PM March 04, 2009

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...

Tony Lee of CA 3:39PM March 04, 2009