Hey Colon! Say Cheese!

The death of Tony Snow today reminds me of my friend Bruce, who died of the same son-of-a-bitch disease 10 years ago.

Bruce was an incredibly smart, funny, kind, witty, quirky human being. I once told him he should teach a course in friendship, because no one knew better how to be a really good (my very best) friend than he did. He knew when to laugh, and when to prod, and when to shut up. One thing he didn’t know was when to have his first colonoscopy. And the really dreadfully inept HMO that (mis)managed his care didn’t either. So he didn’t have his first colon pics until he was symptomatic, at 58. One year later, he was dead.

So I’ll tell you now, in case you have a really good friend or are a really good friend or hope someday to become a really good friend or have a really good friend, that you should have your first colonoscopy when you’re 50. Pay attention to the symptoms that indicate you should have one sooner.

Don’t let the idea of it put you off. You’ll be asleep. It’s no big deal.

Don’t let the idea of the prep put you off. Would you rather have what amounts to diarrhea for half a day or allow a cancer to grow in you until there’s no choice but dying by inches? Put that way, isn’t the choice obvious?

Yes, we all have to die of something, but colon cancer isn’t something you have to die from. It’s preventable, and if caught early, treatable. So take your colon off to the nearest gastroenterologist and tell it to smile for the camera.