I'm a two year survivor of Stage 3 colon cancer. Like your father, I felt fine and didn't see a need to put myself through a colonoscopy. When my personal physician retired (I hadn't visited him in 15 years or more), I needed to find a new physician. Fortunately, I located a very good one who asked me to come in for a routine physical since I was a new patient to him. To make a long story short, he detected blood during a digital examine and referred me to a surgeon for a colonsocopy. The surgeon detected cancer cells in my colon and referred me to a colon specialist for a second colonoscopy. The final diagnosis was stage 3 colo-rectal cancer. Two operations, 6 weeks of daily radiation treatments, and six months of chemotherapy have left me with neuropathy in my hands and feet, but I was back to work 5 weeks after the second operation and have been working ever since. I am still able to coach basketball and do pretty much what I did before.
The only reminder is the numbness in my hands and feet caused by the chemotherapy and the colostomy pouch I wear as a result of the surgery. I feel fortunate to be alive. My cancer had spread into the surrounding lymph-nodes, but had not spread to other organs of my body. I am alive today because my new doctor was very pro-active and I consented to finally have a colonoscopy.
I now have annual colonoscopies without being put under. If you haven't had a colonoscopy in a few years, call your doctor and schedule one now. If your family has a history of colon cancer, your colonoscopies should begin at an earlier age. It's uncomfortable. It's embarrassing. It's inconvenient. But it can save your life.
I'm sorry to hear about your father, but I am in a good position to empathize with what you and your family must be going through. I hope your father can enjoy whatever time he has left. Whether it is two years or forty years, spend the time living and enjoying life. Don't dwell on the cancer. Spend time enjoying things that you and your father enjoy doing together. My two sons, my daughter, and I watched Notre Dame beat USC while I recovered from my surgery in the fall of 2010. Those moments kept me going during my own fight against cancer.
Greg
