Have you had a colonoscopy? If not, it may be time. Mine's tomorrow.

My first colonoscopy occurred on March 5, 2012, and the sequel arrives tomorrow morning.

Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor to look at the inner lining of your large intestine (rectum and colon). He or she uses a thin, flexible tube called a colonoscope to look at the colon. A colonoscopy helps find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding. During a colonoscopy, tissue samples can be collected (biopsy) and abnormal growths can be taken out. Colonoscopy can also be used as a screening test to check for cancer or precancerous growths in the colon or rectum (polyps).

In order for this procedure to be effective, one's colon must be immaculately clean, and accordingly, fasting began after dinner Wednesday night. For 36 hours, it's a steady diet of Jello, bouillon, hard candy, apple juice and water -- but nothing colored red, please. Very early Friday morning, there'll be dosages of a vigorously effective laxative.

The payback is peace of mind, because colonoscopy (generally recommended to begin at intervals at age 50) is the "only screening method that is both diagnostic and therapeutic," which is to say that it results in potential problems being both spotted and removed. As you will read below, this was my experience in 2012.

Note that colonoscopy methods are evolving all the time, and individual experience obviously can vary. Still, overall, when it comes to things that require a man to forego food and drink, spend hours on the toilet and bare all for a complete stranger armed with strange invasive tubes, I can think of no better choice than happy compliance

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CDC says: "March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month."

March 6, 2012

In the end, it wasn't anywhere close to the pain in the rump I'd imagined. I'm referring to my first ever colonoscopy yesterday. It came a year later than recommended (I'll be 52 in August), and for an inveterate trencherman like me, 36 hours spent without solid food while gulping laxatives was annoying, but worth it.

First, here's how it works. You get a good inner cleansing courtesy of the laxatives, are hooked up to an IV with some groovy local anesthesia (conscious, but susceptible to Pink Floyd), and yield to a tiny camera so the doctor can explore your colon's nooks and crannies.

If precancerous polyps are found during the course of the examination, they are removed on the very same dime, and that's a bargain, because scientific studies now are beginning to show conclusively what has been suspected all along: Those polyps can become cancerous, and colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths yearly in America.

Yesterday two polyps were removed from my colon, one benign and the other precancerous. If you think their elimination wasn't worth a Sunday spent in proximity to a toilet, think again. It's simple: Timely screening and the removal of precancerous polyps translate into a 50% to 60% better chance of avoiding colorectal cancer in the future. Those are way better odds than you'll get at any casino, aren't they?

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. If everyone who is 50 years old or older were screened regularly, as many as 60% of deaths from this cancer could be avoided.