Two Good Items To Note
Two items of great news to note. The first, to follow up the story “Hot Potato”, it is with great joy to tell you that the couple has been reunited, as of yesterday. To keep this post positive, the details of the admission will be written in another post. But I want to tell you the joy witnessed when the spouse who was already at the facility saw the other spouse being wheeled through the hallways, provided the most satisfaction I have ever felt as a health advocate. While the prognosis is not favorable, at least one wish had come true. I have been told that this situation is very similar to the movie “The Notebook”. I guess I need to see it.
Second, all months long I have been harping about the importance of preventive screening for colon cancer, among other cancers. Last week, I underwent three screenings, all part of my follow up care for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I still have more to go for other body systems, but I can now cross these three off for a little while.
According to a dermatologist I saw, he was quite amazed that I did not have basal cancer cells given the amount of radiation I had been exposed to. But cross that off… no skin cancer. Another test I underwent was an endoscopy, a camera put down my esophagus to check for many things, but to follow up on a pre-cancerous condition I have from radiation therapy, Barrett’s Esophagus among some others. The test showed that everything remains stable. Cross that one off.
So, March is Colon/Rectal Cancer Month, so the final test I had done was a colonoscopy. Again, it is a camera going where cameras do not usually go. And while they are there, if polyps are found, they are removed and biopsied. If pathology confirms they are not cancerous, then by having removed them, the polyps have been prevented from turning cancerous. And if they are cancerous, hopefully it allows enough time to treat.
Yes, for the second time, I have had polyps removed. And for the second time, they were not cancerous. But had I been like so many who do not get this simple screening for silly fears and ignorance, given my health history, I could be writing a different post.
That is what makes a colonoscopy so valuable and important. How does the expression go… “an ounce of prevention.”?
Paul's Heart 