C is for colonoscopy. Difficult conversations have become comfortable for me. Politics, religion, gender, sex and body parts we never speak of keep coming up everywhere I go. In the sentences ahead, the topic is body parts we don’t talk about. It’ll end with the anus, and ahead of that, there’s the rectum and the colon.
These are body parts I’m choosing to write about because I learned recently that I dodged colorectal cancer. A colonoscopy I underwent early this summer revealed five polyps, and a lab analysis of the largest polyp was performed. According to that analysis, the polyp had cancerous cells in it.
The doctor who did the procedure is confident the cancerous cells were limited to the polyp and there are no rogue cells still in me. That’s great news for me because at the age of 56, I’m not ready to be taken out by cancer. There’s much I feel I still have to do. More than a few political issues are calling to me to be sorted out.
The doctor who did the colonoscopy recommended I speak with a surgeon about further treatment options to make certain there are no cancer cells in the bottom end of my digestive system. That appointment is booked. Also, I have another colonoscopy booked in October of 2026. Yet another will follow that colonoscopy in 2028.
Because I have a habit of speaking openly in public about things that make most people uncomfortable, on occasion, folks privately thank me for sharing so openly. The first colonoscopy I had was more than 20 years ago, when I was employed as a newsreader and talk show host at Mountain FM. Of course, I talked about it on the radio. This most recent colonoscopy, I spoke about openly in my capacity as Acting Mayor at the start of the Terry Fox Run.
Over and over, I’ve heard people say things like, “Thank you for being so open about that. We all need to talk about health issues more.” After that, I usually hear about a relative who died of preventable cancer that went undetected or a good friend who quietly suffered through a taboo medical issue.
Colonoscopies save lives. So do mammograms, self-examinations and regular doctor/general practitioner visits. Self-examinations include feeling the parts of your body that aren’t regularly mentioned in polite society. Yes, I’m encouraging people to feel their breasts and feel their testicles. If lumps form on these body parts, it often indicates something is going on under the skin that a medical professional should evaluate.
Suppose you’ve hung on this far into this uncomfortable conversation. In that case, you might be comfortable enough to give yourself a once-over to check for unusual lumps and skin anomalies. How about taking all this one step further and asking one person you love to do the same?
Sure, it might make you and them uncomfortable. If it results in the discovery of a lump, that leads to a medical appointment, which in turn leads to a doctor scheduling tests, and then to the early detection of a small tumour that is easy to treat. You’ll be thankful for that uncomfortable conversation.
And, you won’t be alone in having that conversation because after I learned that I dodged the cancer bullet, I took the advice of my doctor, and I asked my children to keep this on their radar as they age. Then I phoned my mom, my sister and my brother to request that all three of them book an appointment with their doctors to discuss having colonoscopies. All my direct relatives have an elevated cancer risk.
My dad got a pass because he’s already on top of all of this. Thankfully, my conversations with my family weren’t difficult. I chose to be intentional by making those conversations factual. The message was delivered with love, and my passion for people motivates me to discuss topics that make people squirm a bit.
John French was first elected to the Squamish Council in 2018. He’s a lifelong Squamish resident who was born (breached) at Squamish General Hospital.
Thanks John 👍🏻
Thanks for your openness, John. On the subject of ‘feeling’, even having regular mammograms: I am only stating the obvious that not everything can be felt by touch or be seen on a mammogram. That is where a ct-scan comes in. ‘Listen’ to your body, be alert without becoming a hypochondriac, and guys: Yes, pay attention to your colon, but don’t forget your prostate!