Guess Who’s Getting A Colonoscopy? His Name Rhymes With Large

First things first.

My mom does not want me to talk about this or share this.

"You always put your business out there on the internet. You don't have to tell them about this. It's personal. It's private."

It is.

But the more I've talked about it, I've run into a fair amount of people who have gone through it. And they congratulate me for getting it done.

They also warned me about the prep. The procedure was no biggie but the prep, that's gonna get ya.

I'm talking about a colonoscopy.

I'm having one done later this week.

And I'm talking about it because...well I've shared my Covid-19 testing procedure with you. And we've talked about me growing up black in the south in the face of recent events. We're friends and family. We can talk about anything.

Also, because men are private about health issues and really DON'T ADDRESS them.

Or get checked for things. We're pretty terrible about it.

Especially when it comes to cancer screenings. Testicular, prostate, and colorectal.

And for me it's not only a men's health issue, but an African American male health issue.

Due to a disproportionately higher incidence of colon cancer among the African-American population, some physicians recommend a baseline colonoscopy at age 45 or earlier for African-Americans. (Moffitt Cancer Center)

I went in for a physical a couple of weeks ago. And considering my age group and family history (my grandmother on my mother's side passed because of colon cancer), I was scheduled for a colonoscopy.

Fun Fact: About 150,000 Americans develop colorectal cancer each year, making it the third most common cancer-related cause of death in the U.S. 85% of these patients have no family history of the disease. (Columbia Surgery)

The bottom line is that everyone should be screened for colorectal cancer according to the individual guidelines recommended by a physician. Colon cancer can be one of the most preventable types of cancer – if a patient takes a proactive role in his or her own health care.  (Moffitt Cancer Center)