Among America’s Founding Fathers, I believe Benjamin Franklin was among the brightest. And over the past 250 years, he has been one of the most frequently quoted.
Here’s an Old Ben favorite: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Can I get an amen?
When it comes to your health, no truer word—prevention—has ever been spoken. While this is the season when we typically have “sugarplums dancing in our heads,” it’s also the perfect time to do as Santa does: “Make a list and check it twice.”
I’m not talking about what comes down the chimney and goes under the twinkling tree. I’m encouraging you to make a list of what you’ve done or will do to prevent future health issues. And check it twice.
Christmas is a joyful “C” word.
Cancer is a dreaded “C” word.
One of the best ways to defend yourself from cancer is an aggressive regimen of prevention. The older we get, the more aggressive we must be. After a quick glance at my family tree, I didn’t see a man who had the privilege of blowing out 80 birthday candles. Perhaps I can be the first.
That’s why I am an advocate of running a regular gauntlet of tests that can peer around the corner to see what bad stuff could be lurking. A good example is a feared double “C” word—colorectal cancer.
The American Cancer Society stated that 152,810 Americans have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2024. The somber news is that about one-third of those patients died. The flipside is that early prevention and treatment could have avoided those obituaries.
How?
Here’s another “C” word: colonoscopy.
The actual procedure is a breeze. You’re snoozing courtesy of short-term sedation. And these days, doctors are aided with a second set of nosy eyes to spot polyps that could become cancerous. Artificial intelligence (AI) is at work down there in your bowel labyrinth, too.
But advanced technology hasn’t made the preparation for this exam much easier. It is a yucky adventure, getting colon-cleansed for that camera-assisted scoping. Fellow colonoscopy veterans will agree that you don’t want to wander too far from indoor plumbing.
Can I get another amen?
Cancer is as dangerous as a coiled and ready-to-strike rattlesnake. There’s absolutely nothing funny about the disease. But when I’m going through medical indignities such as colonoscopy prep, I choose to humor myself.
There was the time when the urological nurse—putting on a pair of gloves—asked whether I was allergic to latex. “No, ma’am,” I replied. “Not until I hear it snap on your wrist.”
Over the years, some readers have contended that I’m full of you-know-what with my opinions. Maybe they are right. Before and after my last plumbing probe, I stepped on the scales.
In less than 24 hours, I had lost 10 pounds.
Hmmmmm.
Laughing aside, here’s what a Raleigh, North Carolina, gastroenterologist reported in the November edition of AARP’s magazine. Dr. Neeraj Sachdeva said, “Colorectal cancer mortality is going down because we’re picking up more cancers and precancers as more people get screened. The technology is there. If we catch your lesion early, taking care of it is simple. You can avoid chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.”
So, there you have it.
Remember what Old Ben said.
And if your doctor says that you need a colonoscopy, put it on the gift-to-yourself Christmas list.
And don’t just check it twice.
Get it done.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
