A plea for your health: Get cancer screenings regularly

You really don’t need an extra reason. But I happen to have a few that are very close to my heart. Sadly, far too many of my friends have one (or more), too.

Cancer is a disease that has impacted so many lives, it’s honestly hard to find someone that hasn’t lost a friend, a family member, a colleague, a neighbor, or other connection to this terrible disease. And, while there is still no cure for the many varieties of cancer, there are screenings and tests that you can do to catch the illness as early as possible.

Studies show that the earlier you can detect cancer, the higher the survival rates. Sadly, over 50% of detected cancers, however, are in the later stages. As I’ve previously discussed, there are plenty of problems with our current healthcare system, and insurance is a big one. This means you sometimes have to be very proactive and become your own advocate.

A great first place to start is with a regular visit to your own, primary physician. Hopefully, you can find a provider that you can see at least on an annual basis for a check-up. While these can be routine and may even feel unnecessary, they are crucial appointments that help to catch unexpected conditions in the earliest stages.

That doctor should also be able to help you determine a regular screening schedule that is right for you and your individual needs. Another hinderance, in my opinion, of frequent screenings can be the ever-changing recommendations. The chatter used to say get an annual breast exam and mammogram each and every year from age 40 on. These days, if your history has been clear, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends one mammogram every TWO years.

However, generalized advice is just that. It is general, for the entire public. It is not tailored to your family history, testing history, nor risk factors. Only you, along with your primary care doctor, can determine what makes sense for your schedule.

I, for example, currently go annually. Since I have had biopsies in the past to more closely examine lumps, it is recommended that I check each year.

Initially, it was the loss of a very good friend far too early the pushed me to have checks done each year. As soon as the big 4-0 hit, I was there. That exact month, in fact. I went because the heartache and loss of such a close friend made me go. I never want my friends and family to feel that pain, to not know until it is too late, to miss out on the future I hope to see. It was completely crushing, as she left us far too soon. (Yo babe, I miss you!)

In 2020, I lost my biological mother to colon cancer. This too prompted a regular colonoscopy for me. I’m currently at an every-three-year rate, but even that makes me anxious. From the time they found cancer in my mom, to the day she died of the disease, was all of 18 months. I don’t personally understand how, if it can be so rapid, a test provided twice as long apart as that is helpful, but again, that is just one of my many complaints about the American healthcare system’s focus on the almighty dollar instead of best health outcomes.

That loss of my mom, again taken far too early from all of us, again encouraged me to have annual checks. Given my very close family history, I am more than aware of my risk. I take it very seriously, and hope that being proactive with regular checks will help me catch any such issue as early as possible.

It's really, honestly, not that bad. The prep is the worst part, which is what nearly anyone who’s had one will say. Colonoscopies are otherwise a little nap, where you blink, wake up, and it’s over. You have no residual pain. There is no discomfort at all, outside of an evening of frequent trips to the bathroom and a bit of hunger, as you can’t eat until after.

Being a bit hungry for a day, and even rushing to the toilet, is nowhere near the pain of NOT catching your disease. It pales a thousand times over compared to the pain of losing a loved one.

If you are at all on the fence, please do go. Please get your recommended check-ups. Please make the appointments, do the prep, get these done. They really are a matter of life or death.

Believe me, each and every one of us who have lost a person to cancer wishes more than anything they could go back and catch it earlier. We’d do anything to have these people back in our lives.

It is a small screening, all of which are nearly painless. They take just a few moments out of your day. It doesn’t need to be a month of pink or a ribbon reminder to push you to do the right thing.

Moms, in particular, often have a hard time taking care of themselves. We spend a whole lot of our lives taking care of others, and we sometimes forget about our own needs. But take the time. Make the appointments. I promise, you will not regret it. If for no other reason than you want to protect those you’ve cared for all your life, please go.

Trust me when I say, there is not a day that goes by that I do not miss my girlfriend and my mother. And you shouldn’t need any reason beyond the obvious one: take care of yourself.

But, if you can’t seem to think of a good one, reach out. I’d be happy to lend you plenty of reasons to get screened. And if you ask around, I’ll bet you’ll find those in your lives have plenty to give you, too.

You can reach Melissa Finley at [email protected].