Are colonoscopies worth it?
It’s time to share something personal again.<p>When I was 20, I vividly remember being in the bathroom at my workplace when a large amount of blood started coming out. I did what any smart, effective 20yo would do: ignored it because I was embarrassed.<p>Fast forward 10 years, and I’d been ignoring it for a decade. It had continued to happen every few months. Sometimes the blood was so bad I’d have to wait up to 20 minutes for it to stop. Other times I would see blood, but no bleeding.<p>These are bad signs. If you see this, don’t do what I did. I was gambling with my life. Remember that popular video game commenter that died from this? Totalbiscuit? He concealed his, and he lost.<p>The most unexpected thing is that when I actually wanted one, the process took over two years. And that was after a year or so of periodically mentioning it to the doctors, who would give me a sheet of numbers to call and I never bothered. Those three years could have been the difference.<p>Turns out, there’s nothing wrong with me. It was hemorrhoids. You might think you’re smart enough to tell the difference. I thought so. I was a cocky idiot who could’ve died from cancer before seeing my daughter get married.<p>Just get one if you see something. The final paragraph of the article pleads you to. The peace of mind alone was worth the small unpleasantness and major logistical annoyance.