March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
While I don’t love putting a still-tender piece of my history out there – it’s something that’s very important to me, so here goes.
This was my dad. A dedicated, hardworking family man, the life of every party (literally), and someone who’s life was taken earlier than it should have been.
My dad passed from complications of a long battle with Stage IV colon cancer at 54 years old.
Doctors say his cancer would have started forming when he was around 30.
This is the last picture I have with him – it’s the night of my high school graduation. We rushed from the ceremony to get takeout from our favorite pizzeria and celebrate with him at the hospital, where he frequently was from the time I was 12 until he passed when I was 18.
I often wonder how our relationship would be now....more importantly, how much he would love his granddaughter.
In the US, approximately 135,430 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year.
However, more than 90% of the time, colorectal cancer can be effectively treated when diagnosed at its earliest stages.
The reason most adults don't find it in this stage?
People wants to go to the doctor and talk about the symptoms that often are associated with it, and they skip suggested scans because they're uncomfortable with the process.
Talk with your doctor about when to begin colon cancer screening. Guidelines generally recommend that colon cancer screenings begin around 50. Your doctor may recommend more frequent or earlier screening if you have other risk factors, such as a family history of the disease.
I got my first scan at 30. It’s legit NBD…and you could be saving your own life.
Release the stigma that is associated with colorectal health - there is no shame in bodily function.
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