1st Time at 50 - The Right Time To Stop Colon Cancer NowOk – I don’t even want to know where a lot of your minds went after reading this blog’s title, 1st Time at 50. I can only imagine (okay, I have two sons), but in all honesty, there isn’t much for us to experience for the “first time” at the age of 50, except maybe for getting our colon cancer screening.

If we are supposed to be experts at trying new things by the time we are 50, why do so many of us act like such amateurs at the thought of getting a colonoscopy to prevent colon cancer? I can think of a lot of things that we do for the first-time that are way more difficult than getting a colonoscopy!

 

  • Being the new kid in school
  • Asking someone out on a date
  • Giving birth
  • Letting your child drive for the first time by themselves (a recent experience, tried to be cool but failed miserably)
  • Starting a new job
  • Moving to a different city

We all made it through at least one of the above situations, and we are wise enough to know that things are hardly ever as bad as we believed them to be. During March, Colon Cancer Awareness Month, Stop Colon Cancer Now.com is leading a nationwide effort to screen 1,000 first-time patients during National Colon Cancer Screening Day on Thursday, March 8.

National Colon Cancer Screening Day
March 8, 2012
If you’ve never had a colonoscopy, and it’s time for your colon cancer screening, schedule your colonoscopy for March 8, 2012. If you can’t get an appointment on the 8th, then let them know you’re a first-timer trying to schedule on National Colon Cancer Screening Day.
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By designating a national screening day and focusing on first-time patients, Stop Colon Cancer Now hopes to raise awareness among those who may be putting off this potentially life-saving procedure.

Help me remind everyone why it is so great to be 50. Being 50 means having more experience and less fear. Being 50 means having more confidence and less insecurities. Being 50 means enjoying life and knowing that it is precious.

Trust me, I know it is easy to procrastinate (I have an advanced degree in it), but rallying around a single day will encourage other folks to schedule their first colonoscopy. So if you are 50 and you haven’t had your colon cancer screening, don’t wait any longer. And if you have been screened, help your friends get over the trepidation about being “first-timers.”  Colon cancer is 90 percent curable if caught early – you could be saving the life of someone you care about.

Also, please know if you aren’t 50 yet, that doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have to get screened for colon cancer.

Talk to your doctor, you may need to get screened earlier if you:

  • Are 45 years of age or older and African American
  • Have a family history of polyps or colon cancer

There is no better test, no better time to help in the fight against cancer. Find a doctor today and schedule your colonoscopy.

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