I had my first colonoscopy and endoscopy way before the routine age to get one, back on May 6th. The prep wasn’t terrible, but it was tiresome. I drank all the colyte, and my advice to anyone going through this is to do your prep correctly. The doctor informed me I have some acid reflux and a hiatal hernia, so I should eat smaller meals. She also removed some polyps from my intestinal tract. One polyp in my cecum was a pre-cancerous sessile serrated adenoma about 15 mm long (which she said was considered “big.”) She said it was hard to spot, and if I hadn’t done a good job with prep and cleaned myself out well, there’s a good chance they could have missed it. (which is why I said earlier to do your prep correct. Do not cheat.) Doc advised that I should never allow more than 3 years between check-ups, and said if I had left it alone and waited until the usual age for this procedure… “we’d be having a very different conversation.”

Apparently, there is no way the weirdness with my poos is related to this pre-cancerous polyp. This has me somewhat relieved and yet not, because now I’m wondering if I have anything pushing on the outside of my intestinal tract inwards (due to my severe endometriosis). But, at least I am cleared of colon cancer (for now since they got it all). She is also looking into whether or not my insurance will cover genetic testing. “Some people don’t want to know,” is what she said to me.

So, thank goodness I had this weird issue with my poop that led me to find something that could very well have killed me. I don’t feel like I’m out of the woods just yet, but at the same time feel a lot better knowing I can rule out colon cancer and knowing I somehow managed to hold that at bay for now.

I am considering becoming a vegetarian, but need to research cancer diet a bit more before making a decision. I recall the summer of 2013 when I worked at Barnes & Noble and rang up Dr. Terry Shintani. He told me then that he’d converted to being a vegetarian, and that animal protein was linked to cancer. I’ll be honest–I’m feeling a bit pessimistic. Usually I’m the optimist in most aspects of life, but when it comes to things like cancer … I’ve seen what it does and how it takes out even the healthiest-seeming people. I will do what I can, but I will also have to be aware that life is short, and I need to take some time for myself to enjoy it while I have it.