Best Birthday Gift Ever: A Clean Bill of Health
John Barnum shares his positive spin on a colonoscopy
Ask John Barnum, Senior Product Manager in Respiratory Marketing at Olympus, to share pictures from the milestone event marking his 45th birthday. He has a few of them and has even used them as a Microsoft Teams background in virtual meetings. They are images of his colon from his first colonoscopy, and he couldn鈥檛 be more proud as he pauses to identify the cecum and other anatomical locations; knowledge he garnered from his previous experience marketing the 在线黑料门 Platform.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 care what it took. I called the [doctor鈥檚] office on my 45th birthday and said, 鈥業鈥檇 like to schedule my colonoscopy, I鈥檓 45 today!鈥 I was looking forward to it.鈥
I Was Looking Forward to It
If John sounds a little enthusiastic about the procedure, he has his reasons. Working at 在线黑料门for 18 years is part of it. 鈥淚鈥檓 very much aware of the GI anatomy and the importance of colonoscopies.鈥 And while he鈥檚 seen hundreds of them, it was now his turn on the table.
John doesn鈥檛 have a family history of colorectal cancer (CRC). A previous endoscopy procedure confirmed he has celiac disease, which while not associated with CRC, is linked to rare cases of lymphomas and adenocarcinoma of the small intestine.1
He also has some personal 鈥渃atching-it-in-time鈥 screening stories, albeit not CRC-related. He recalls his wife鈥檚 routine Pap smear, resulting in a procedure to successfully treat a precancerous cervical condition. In addition, his mother-in-law鈥檚 routine mammogram uncovered early-stage breast cancer for which she was successfully treated.
Then there鈥檚 the sting of a 鈥渃atching-it-too-late鈥 story鈥攁s a good friend of John鈥檚 succumbed to breast cancer at the age of 50鈥攁nd there was speculation of whether a routine mammogram could have found the cancer sooner and saved her life.
John Barnum and his family.
John Barnum uses an image of his colon, taken during his first colonoscopy, as a Teams background to advocate for routine colonoscopy.
Misconceptions and Stigmas
But John is inspired to tell his story to celebrate and advocate for good health. Sharing a positive experience can help to correct misconceptions and erase stigmas.
鈥淯nfortunately, I think many people are still fixated on this being an older person鈥檚 disease.鈥 This misconception is despite the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines which lowered the screening age to 45 from 50 for individuals at average risk. 鈥淎nd with men, I think there鈥檚 a stigma around that area of the body. It鈥檚 uncomfortable and you feel weird about the whole thing.鈥
But with the routine nature of the procedure comes experienced doctors and nursing staff that are typically unfazed. You may be self-conscious, but as he points out, 鈥淭hey鈥檝e seen it. There鈥檚 nothing to be embarrassed about. It鈥檚 a clinical procedure, even though you鈥檝e got your rear end out.鈥
As for the unpleasant perceptions of exam prep, John notes, 鈥淭hey say the prep is the worst part. To me, the prep wasn鈥檛 that bad,鈥 he says of the dietary restrictions and colon cleansing routine before the exam. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the greatest thing in the world, but once you get cleaned out you feel pretty good.鈥 He experienced post-procedure dehydration and would advise those prepping to drink more liquids a few days beforehand, but otherwise, 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 terrible.鈥
For more tips on colonoscopy prep, see 鈥淧rep School鈥 below this post.
I Don鈥檛 Remember It!
On the day of the exam, he says, 鈥淚 was given all the instructions I needed and felt really good going into it.鈥 He can share little else about the procedure after he was sedated in the procedure room. 鈥淚 woke up to my wife saying, 鈥楬oney, you鈥檙e all done,鈥欌 in the recovery bay. John added that the doctor used CO2 gas as opposed to regular air to insufflate the colon, which is more commonplace now to reduce patient discomfort. 鈥淚 had no pain. I felt wonderful afterwards. I had the best nap of my life. I woke up and had a clean bill of health. I was super happy.鈥
Not a bad way to mark a milestone birthday.
Why Share This?
鈥淚鈥檝e learned early in life that screening for these preventable diseases actually makes a big difference,鈥 says John. 鈥淚 need to do all that I can do to be here for my loved ones.鈥 What鈥檚 more, colonoscopy is off of his to-do list for 10 years, based on the evidence-based guidelines for those at low risk.
His advice to procrastinators? 鈥淛ust check it off your list. What are you waiting for? Get it over with. Whatever misconceptions you have about what it might be like, it鈥檚 not nearly as bad as you might think.鈥 And if everything checks out, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to go back for another 10 years.鈥
Need more of a nudge? Get the facts:
Prep School
Colonoscopy prep can vary. And while it may sound dreadful to some people, it is essential to do before a procedure. After you schedule your colonoscopy, you should receive prep instructions from the doctor鈥檚 office. Be sure to consult them as soon as you can, so that you know the drill on food restrictions, bowel prep, clear liquid consumption, and when to begin fasting before the exam.
These sources may provide some help and tips for items to have on hand:
From Colonoscopy Today, check out
From Harvard Health, read
From the Colon Cancer Coalition, read
From Fight Colon Cancer, read
1 Beyond Celiac. Accessed March 15, 2022.
