Are colonoscopies worth it?
It’s time to share something personal again.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.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.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.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.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.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.