Carol Haddix

Turning 50 was going to be great. My children were getting married, one in June and one in September, there was so much to look forward to and to do. At my annual Ob-Gyn appointment, my Doctor recommended that I have a colonoscopy. She gave me the card of a doctor to contact which I promptly hung the card on my refrigerator, mentally noting that I would call after the weddings.

The weddings were beautiful with no major catastrophes and now I had time to relax, or so I thought. Life just happens to get in the way of taking care of yourself when you are the caretaker. So, that colonoscopy would have to wait.

At 53, I find myself at my doctor’s office with some very vague digestive complaints. He recommends a colonoscopy. I agree, now is the time to really get this scheduled. But, who am I going to get to take me. After all, I’m usually the one running everyone everywhere. My husband has a very demanding job and I do not want to inconvenience him by asking him to take time off of work to do this for me. Plus, trying to arrange this appointment with his schedule could be a nightmare. I go ahead and schedule the appointment hoping he can take me or that I can get someone to give me a ride and stay with me during the procedure.

My colonoscopy is scheduled for Oct. 15th. My husband has agreed to take me so all is well, or so I thought. About a week before the appointment, my husband finds that he has a work conflict and will not be able to take me, can I reschedule? I reach out to my daughter who graciously takes the day off work in order to accompany me. Thank God for kids!

I gather my prep materials and the day before my procedure and follow all of the directions. This isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I took some pills and drank additional medicine, and was all clear in a few hours. The next morning I had my colonoscopy. With my daughter by my side, the doctor told me that he had removed some polyps but that there was also a tumor discovered during my procedure. He had a surgeon look at the tumor during the colonoscopy and they determined that it was more than likely cancerous and needed to be removed.

My life and my family’s life changed in that instant. If I thought I was going to inconvenience people before, I really hit the jackpot with this turn of events.

Surgery was scheduled, completed, and followed up with six rounds of chemotherapy. The support I had from family and friends made me realize how very lucky I am. If I had not completed that colonoscopy and waited another three years, what would have been my fate? I just recently had my one year follow up tests. I am cancer free and doing great. People ask all the time if things have changed because of my cancer experience. The answer is yes. I no longer take life for granted. I make my health a priority, not an afterthought.