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Letter: Early detection is important

The Columbian
Published: January 5, 2013, 4:00pm

Have you had a colonoscopy yet? Why not? I could give you the list of excuses. It’s long, but they are just excuses. One is that only old people get colon cancer. Really? I was first diagnosed at 40. I guess, if you are 10, that seems old.

Another excuse is, “I don’t have any problems or symptoms.” Neither did I. I just went in for a check-up on Dec. 23, 2010, and my cancer was stage 4. I’ll say that again for emphasis — I had no symptoms.

Women get mammograms because they don’t want to get breast cancer. Men have their prostate checked because they don’t want to have prostate cancer. But 140,000 people will die this year from colon cancer and not all of them are over 50.

Some people don’t get colonoscopies because they are embarrassed. Really? Out of all the emotions one can go through with colon cancer, embarrassment really isn’t one of them. Scared, sad, angry are all on the top of my list of emotions connected with this disease.

The reasons to get one are far longer: See your kids grow up, marriages, grandchildren, sunsets etc. Being embarrassed isn’t an emotion I would waste one second of time on.

Make a New Year’s resolution and get checked out.

Connie Souders

Vancouver

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