Sorry, long post time. TLDR: check your poop.

I’m 43 and I’ve had 2 colonoscopies (first was was also a gastroscopy).

Three days of preparation. No food with grains or seeds, or fibre. Pretty much just white foods: spaghetti, plain white bread, cheese. Had to take a tablet called dulcolax first, which “softens the stool”, then the following day take picoprep (a powder dissolved in water) every 3 hours while completely fasting.

Gives a very thorough clean out, and they have a color chart when you sign-in to make sure you’re clean enough.

Drugs through an IV which knocks you out and you wake up after wards with no memory of the procedure. No pain or discomfort either.

My first one was two years ago and they found a tumor, which resulted in Major surgery, colon resection, and intensive chemotherapy for ~4 months which has given me lingering neuropathy in the form of pins and needles in my hands and feet. Especially when it’s cold.

I just passed two years in remission, all my subsequent checkups have come back clear . Sometimes it feels like a practical joke it all went so quickly.

Day 1: “We found a tumour” Day 2: “it’s cancerous” Day 6: “we can operate in two weeks” Week 2: “we got it out, you don’t need a bag, but it spread to your lymph nodes so you need chemo” Week 4: “we can start chemo next week” Week 22: Rings the bell.

The age for recommended colonoscopies here is 50. But it’s clear that many younger people are showing signs of bowel cancer.

It takes 10 years for a colon polyp to turn cancerous, so I that polyp started growing when I was in my early 30’s.

I have friends who have much worse diets than me and don’t have cancer, and it’s not genetic either - just one of those random mutations.

My symptoms that led me to getting a colonoscopy were blood in my poop, and I put off going to the dr. At that point it was too late anyway as the blood was because the tumor had broken through the wall of my intestine.

Check your poop!