Just got back from New York. - scooter2

Glad that things worked out for your wife. I, to be honest, had no idea that a colon was that long. I thought it was a small thing.

Scooter,

Welcome back and I am happy to hear that your wife is doing well.

Miss Poi

...nice to meet you. More importantly, I'm very happy to hear that your wife is doing fine!

Mike L.

Glad to hear your wife is doing well. Welcome back.

The colon & rectum are part of your intestines, which are long, hollow tubes that run from your stomach to your anal opening. There are two intestines: the small intestine (or small bowel) and the large intestine (also called the colon). The small intestine, which absorbs the nutrition from your food, is about 25 feet long. It is about as big around as your middle finger. The small intestine empties into the large intestine, or colon, which is about 5 or 6 feet long. The colon is about an inch or two in diameter and connects your small intestine to your anus. The function of the colon is to absorb water and store the waste-products of digestion until your body is ready to empty them out. The large intestine (colon), is shaped like a large question mark and starts out near your right hip, moves up to your ribs on the right side, goes across to the left side by your ribs, then down to the left hip where it makes an S-curve down to the anus. The last portion of the colon is called the rectum. At the bottom of the rectum are the sphincter muscles. There are internal and external anal sphincter muscles. These muscles prevent the rectum from emptying when you do not want it to. The anal canal is one to two inches long. It is surrounded by the anal sphincter muscles which squeeze the anal canal closed to make sure that stool does not leak out accidentally. When a person is ready to move his bowels, he relaxes these sphincter muscles and strains down to push the stool out.

Glad it went well. I will keep you both in my thoughts!

Scooter,
Glad to hear the good news and welcome back..

Hi Scooter. Glad to hear the good news... Nice to meet you and happy for your wife.

Your case gives me hope for all cancer related ones. Unfortunately I lost a friend 3 years ago to a lung cancer and it was terminal in nature!

I wish they finally manage to find something after all these years of research...

Wish you guys all the best!

Sure glad things went well for you. We'll pray for the best!

When I heard that the Government cut back on Cancer Research funding, it really pi--ed me off. I guess one doesn't realize the importance of this until we find ourselves right in the middle.

So gang, if you have the opportunity to participate in a 'Walk for Life' or 'Relay for Life', please give 'er your best shot!

Hope everything goes well, god bless.

I am glad that it went well for her and you. I guess I should have another one as it has been six years.

Glad to hear it went well. Both of you must be relieved about the news. Wishing her a quick recovery.

Good to hear the Good news, and thanks for the reminder that we should be checked/tested on a regular basis.

That is great news. Colon cancer is scary stuff. I lost a friend a year ago. He had not had the colonoscopy for a while (everyone should get this!), and unfortunately is had gone too far. I had never heard the expression "Stage 0", but it sounds like it had not advanced beyond the starting location in the colon.

You must be very relieved and revived!
It is a bright spot on this rainy Saturday.

Always great to hear good news!!! I hope nothing for the best for your wife and you!

I always knew this board and all the members are great but I never expected such a warm response. ETZVETANOV I,am sorry about your friend. My Mother died seven years ago from Lung Cancer.She was at stage 4. Although she quit smoking 17 years prior the lung doctor said it was too late.I said thank god I stopped smoking twenty five years ago,he told me great, but I,am not out of the woods also, because I was born and raised in a smoking eviroment. ICURUS101 Your right there is no stage 0, I kept asking the doctor after he got the pathogist report what stage it was I said it has to be something.He said to help you understand It is Zero. There are 5 stages to most Cancers 1-5 getting worse as the numbers go up. I,am making a appointment to get my Colon checked and I know what the proceedure is. I,am to old to be embassest but the thought of having a doctor fooling around with that part of my body isn,t that thrilling. But If it could save my life I,am all for it.
AGAIN THANKS TO ALL FOR THAT GREAT RESPONSE AND CONCERN
Richie
AKA Scooter2

Hi Again! I had that procedure done last year and had the same concern but it is quite easy - they put your out! You wake up and it's all over. Not exactly a picnic, but not too bad.

I had both procedures done Colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy - there was column about the cost of both procedures, which at one time I mentioned to my doctor that the sigmoidoscopy was like $100. and a colonoscopy was $1000. I really couldn't believe the cost difference.. but anyway, always go for the colonscopy for the simple reason it is most thorough and much easier than being blown up like a balloon with the sigmoidoscopy..

It's a word that rhymes with pits.

Would that be literally or figuratively; or both??!!

Both.

I had a sigmoidoscopy in 2000 they found one ployp and they took it out 1 2 3. It came back fine. I had enough gas in me when it was over to last a Month.They (Polyps) run in the family. My Father used to get them in his noise two or three and they would cut them out right in the Doctors Office.I have to get them in the Butt. When I was fifteen the doctor put on the rubber finger and said that he thought I had them in the rectum. Up went the silver stallion (SCOPE) and he said I had Three of them. Back then I had to go into the hospital and they cut them out after giving me a spinal. It was a lot easier the last time. But as mention above it,s not as good as the Colonasphy,(Wish I could spell that word) it doesn,t go all the way up I,am told. Will See.Again Thanks for all the support that I got from all of you. This place is GREAT

I'm glad your wife is ok.
Hope she gets better soon.

I think we all have someone close died of cancer as my aunt died a while ago.

Sorry about your aunt. I hope and pray that someday I know I won,t see it but maybe someday they will have a preventive against Cancer. Then our kids and family won,t have to worry about it

Scooter2, so glad to hear the wonderfully encouraging news about your wife.

I'll second (or third) the "no big deal" comments about a colonoscopy procedure. I had one done about 2 months ago (2 polyps, both benign) and it was a pretty simple matter of lying down to sleep while they worked.

If you are approaching 50, think about scheduling one soon. If you are over 50 and have not had your initial one done, make a mental note to call your doctor within the next 7 days to get one scheduled.

You may be another person like Scooters's wife with the good news of a problem caught early. My friend was not so fortunate -- he ultimately died of colon cancer.

Thanks for listening to me rant about this!

Brad

I'm brand new around here. Thank you for reminding everyone about the importance of regular testing. Cancer runs very high in my family. Both my parents died from it. My mother died of Colon cancer. I get a Colonoscopy every three years. Of all the places you can get cancer, the colon is probable one of the easiest to detect. Polyps take five years to form, grow and then turn cancerous. If you get a Colonoscopy every three years, you can catch the polyps in time. You do have to let the polyps grow, however, in order to let them be big enough to snip off. Getting a Colonoscopy more often doesn’t help.

Amen to That BJS,

As long as the polyps were beign, like mine was your home free. I don,t want to cause anyone to become alarmed or keep ranting about it but my Wife had a colonasphy 18 months ago. The doctor who performed it said that the polyp looked like it was starting to turn into Cancer and that when he took it out he said he got it all. The pathogist report came back confirming what the doctor said.I was assured by the doctor that he got it all. As you know that was not the case. Thank GOD I was able to get a top surgeon up in New York thru a friend of mine whos a retired Plastic surgeon.

What I,am trying to say is if anybody had any problem with thier colonasphy (aka polyps) don,t wait more than a year to get a second one.(Every body makes mistakes in this world even DOCTORS! Thank GOD the last doctor didn,t

Glad to hear everything is going well! That's great news!!

Glad to see you back and happy the procedure went well for your wife.
I had a colonoscopy last year, one polyp of the cancerous type, was snipped out. If left in, could have been bad news over time. But, since it was found early all is good.
The worst part is the prep as previously stated.
I was given something in the IV that rendered me in an amnesia state. It was actually a pretty cool experience--the amnesia state. I can't remember the actual procedure. I was awake and watching the monitor and the Dr took pictures. I was asking questions about the pictures (asked the same questions multiple times...I'm told..lol) At one point I remember sitting on the bed and the nurse told me I could get dressed, the next thing I remember is getting into a wheel chair so I could leave the hospital...I don't remember getting dressed. Wife thought the whole thing was funny, except asking her the same questions over and over.
There was no embarassement (well maybe just that much) at all.

If anyone has cause to be checked or is at that age recommended to be checked....do it. It's not that bad at all. I had envisioned it to be much worse. Nothing to it.