We still don’t have the flying cars that futurists promised. What we do have is a wide array of medical interventions that our grandparents didn’t have.
One of these is the colonoscopy. The colonoscopy is an uncomfortable, but life saving procedure during which a doctor examines the colon of a sedated individual.
Colonoscopies: Unpleasant but Necessary
Colonoscopies save lives in a number of ways. If cancer is present in the colorectal tract, a colonoscopy will detect it, and treatment can begin. During a colonoscopy, a doctor will also clip off polyps that have formed in the colon.
Polyps are a little like fleshy toadstools that blossom from the wall of the colorectal tract. They typically start out benign, but can become cancerous over time. That’s why everyone over fifty is strongly advised to have a colonoscopy every ten years. Depending on what is found on the first colonoscopy, future colonoscopies may need to take place more frequently.
Colonoscopies have been so successful in saving lives that the National Institutes of Health has confidently stated, “Colorectal cancer is a potentially preventable or curable disease.”
So How Do You Get Your Parent to Have A Colonoscopy?
Despite the obvious benefits of getting your first colonoscopy at fifty and subsequent procedures every ten years thereafter, many seniors refuse to go. There are several reasons to resist a colonoscopy. Patients must present themselves for the procedure with a “clean colon.” And this means losing about half a day to medically induced diarrhea.
Parents may try to weasel out of having their colonoscopies by saying there is no family history of colon cancer, or by saying they have no symptoms. Surveys suggest that some patients fear losing control of their bodily waste while unconscious.
You need to lay out the facts about colon cancer to a reluctant parent. At the point that a patient has the signs of colon cancer, his life may well be in danger. And anyone can get colon cancer. There need be no family history.
How Elder Care Can Help
If your father has a good relationship with his elder care aide, enlist that person’s support in convincing him to go for his colonoscopy. Your elder care aide may also be able to offer support in prepping for the procedure and getting your parent to the doctor’s office the day of.
If your parents respond well to humor, see if you can cajole them all the way to the clinic. After all, colons, rectums, and the jobs they do are funny, right?
Finally, don’t be above bribery. There’s nothing wrong with offering Knicks tickets as a reward for going through with the colonoscopy. Or promising a spa day. Or a dinner at Olive Garden.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5619740/#:~:text=Recently%2C%20several%20case%2Dcontrol%20and,of%20left%2Dsided%20colon%20cancer.
https://www.ccalliance.org/about/awareness-month
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/colon-rectal-cancer/about/what-is-colorectal-cancer.html
https://www.stopcoloncancernow.com/buttseriously/healthy-living-tips/talking-to-your-parents-about-having-a-colonoscopyhttps://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-019-05117-0
If you or an aging loved-one is considering elder care in Walnut Creek, CA, please contact the caring staff at Provident Care Home Care today at (209) 578-1210.
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