Colonscopy

Information and Facts

Today I had my first colonoscopy.

I should have it 5 years ago when I turned 50, but I was a chicken, busy, not so sure I REALLY needed it, have no family history of colon cancer, eat well and take bioidentical hormones and supplements which I firmly believe protect me from all evil.

In short, I used every excuse in the book not to have the colonoscopy. Finally I ran out of excuses. Actually, to be honest even to the last minute I did it on the excuse that my husband needed it more than me, you see he's 2 ½ years older than me.

My friend Maryanne tells me I really did it because I got tired of her bi-annual harassing phone calls. She's right, it was all worthwhile harassment.

Before I continue I want you to know the test did find one little polyp and it was removed. I feel totally fine and believe now it is my duty to encourage all who read my thoughts to run and have your colonoscopies now. Stop procrastinating and making stupid excuses like me.

Colonoscopies became popular like everything else in our culture, when a public personality raised our awareness to its use.

In this case it was the tragedy of Katie Couric's husband's untimely death of colon cancer and her mission of helping others that brought colonoscopies to the forefront of conventional medicine preventive methods. My own interesting aside: colonoscopy is the only truly preventive medical procedure we have. All the other so called preventive medical procedures and tests are just diagnostic, not therapeutic. The reason colonoscopy is therapeutic is because they remove the polyps which may turn to cancer while you are having the procedure. You need not go back for another test or another procedure.

Now, every doctor and human being living in these US knows that we should all be colonoscoped by the age of 50 if not earlier.

Makes sense to do it. So what's the problem? Why are so many of us so afraid we are risking our lives and still don't have the colonoscopy?

The stumbling blocks are: fear of being a patient, fear of having a complication, fear of subjecting yourself voluntarily to a medical procedure without being sick, fear of having to take that awful laxative stuff for a whole day and spending that day in the bathroom and feeling lightheaded for hours, you name it - FEAR!

I understand and know exactly what all these fears are about and can add one additional fear of my own; the fear a doctor has of being a patient.

Once I realized how all these fears can paralyze and kill you, I chose to get the colonoscopy. Being afraid was just not an effective way to spend my time.

Once I took the Fleets Phospho Soda it wasn't bad. I can remember cases of food poisoning a lot more traumatic than 6 hours on the toilet with no symptoms.

Once I had the colonoscopy I wished I had done it 5 years before and was even embarrassed by the ease and simplicity of the procedure. A real life saver without pain or even mild discomfort and all within the confines of conventional medicine.

A little more about my personal experience; I highly recommend my doctor. His name is Leon Kavaler. His telephone number is 212-535-1845 and his office is at 68 East 86 Street, New York, NY 10028.

Dr. Leon works as a team with his wife who is also a doctor, Dr. Jill, the anesthesiologist (critical portion of the procedure).