At age 59, Ben noticed he had been experiencing subtle changes in his bowel movements for the past nine months. He decided to talk with his internist about his symptoms. Ben’s internal medicine physician mentioned that he was very overdue for his colonoscopy screening. Since Ben didn’t have a family history of colon cancer, he should have had a colonoscopy done at age 50. Knowing he could not put it off any longer, Ben scheduled a colonoscopy with a gastroenterologist.
Ben’s colonoscopy revealed a large cancerous polyp that had gone through the colon wall and spread into his lymph system. Faced with a diagnosis of Stage IVA colon cancer, his chances of survival were lower than he hoped for.
With his gastroenterologist’s support, Ben was optimistic that he could beat colon cancer. He had surgery to remove the section of the colon containing the cancer, along with the lymph nodes. Six months of chemotherapy was the next step in his brave fight against colon cancer. During those hard days of chemo treatment and its challenging side effects, Ben maintained his positive attitude and was determined to be a colon cancer survivor.
Ben is now 75 years old and his follow-up colonoscopies have not shown any recurrence of cancer. Ben IS a colon cancer survivor — and he wants everyone to know just how important colorectal screening is. Colonoscopy screening is vital for those aged 50 and older, having abnormal bowel movements, or with a family history of cancer. Get a colonoscopy. It can save your life, just as it did Ben’s.
Call Granite Peaks GI today to schedule your colonoscopy at (801) 619-9000 or request an appointment online.