Not to hi-jack a relavant thread, but it's important enough to; a few years ago I went in for my "50 year old scope" like a good dad, I was in "perfect health" from all the previous tests. After the scope, the doctor invited me and my wife into his office, closed the door, and proceeded to tell me I had "18 months, with luck, surgery and heavy chemo........". It was a little disconcerting to say the least. Long story short, it turned out to be a large NON MALIGNANT tumor in my colon that showed ZERO SYMPTOMS to me. "Thats the way they all are" said the doctor, by the time colon cancer shows a physical symptom, it's ALWAYS too late. After surgery (3 days in the hospitol, $140,000 later, thank God for good private health insurance!) I'm good as new (they just removed the growth, none of the colon) with a newfound outlook on life. Having someone tell you calmly that you have a little over a year to live, with the last half being a living hell of surgery and chemo has a way of sharpening your focus. Rocky has no more "bad days", they call today "the present" because every day is truly a gift! Anyway, the point I was trying to make here is;
IF YOU ARE 50 OR OLDER, GET YOUR SCOPE DONE SOON! (it is a very simple, totally painless exam that takes a few minutes and WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE!) Colon cancer is a very slow progressing disease, and if caught early enough it is over 90% CUREABLE! But if you wait and let it progress for years, by the time you start showing some type of symptom, yer toast.... I would have put mine off for years if it wasn't for the specter of my wife ragging on me to get it done. If not for yourself, do it for the ones you love! (End of lecture/rant, resume normal behavior........
-Rocky-
PS. this story begs the question; what would my treatment options have been if Uncle Sam was footing the tab? Would they still have been willing to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to give me another year.......?
