"Don't put it off" Colorado father urges screenings after routine colonoscopy finds cancer
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and Colorado doctors are warning the deadly disease is on the rise among young people. Diagnoses in people under 50 have risen by more than 50% since 1994.
When Castle Pines father of two Jeff Lind turned 45, his doctor told him it was time for his first colonoscopy.
"I did not want to do it because I've heard that it's, it's quite invasive," Lind said.
After putting off the screening procedure twice, Lind ultimately scheduled it for January of this year.
"It's the right thing to do for my health. I mean, if I'm by myself and don't have anybody who relies on me, then maybe that's a different story. But I have a family. I want to see them and see my kids grow," Lind said.
Despite the fact that Lind had no noticeable symptoms, doctors at AdventHealth found cancer in his colon.
"They found 10 polyps and a tumor, and it didn't look good," Lind said. "It's super scary. I didn't know what was going to happen. Am I going to make it through this? Am I going to see my kids grow up?"
A few weeks later, colorectal surgeon at AdventHealth in Castle Rock and Parker Dr. Ryan Smith operated on Lind, removing 10 inches of his colon.
"Jeff is a classic example of reason to get screened at age 45. He really didn't have any symptoms. He was going for a routine colonoscopy at the recommended age and found a mass in the distal part of his colon and first part of his rectum," said Smith.
Smith said colorectal cancer is on the rise in young people.
"We are seeing an increased incidence in colorectal cancer in patients under the age of 50. It's actually the leading cause of cancer-related death in men under 50, and it's the second leading cause of death in women under 50," Smith said.
It is recommended that adults should start getting a colonoscopy at age 45 and repeat every 10 years if no polyps are found. If you have symptoms or a family history, talk to your doctor about getting one sooner.
"If you do have a family history, it is an indication to get screened earlier. The recommendation is 10 years earlier to the onset of a family member, and then anytime you have symptoms, that is also an indication to get screened," said Smith. "Symptoms such as bleeding, weight loss changes in bowel habits; those are all indications to get evaluated. Oftentimes, things like that can get written off in the younger population. So it's really important to be your own advocate and when you know something is not right, to have it evaluated."
Lind said the procedure was not bad, but the preparation was terrible. Dr. Smith said the process is easy, safe and not worth putting off.
"I certainly think there can be a stigma. I don't think anybody enjoys the prep and everything that's required for a colonoscopy. And it's also easy to be one of those things that you keep putting off because of just life happening and inconvenience in everybody's busy schedule. But it should not be anything anybody is embarrassed about. It is something we recommend for everybody," Smith said.
Thanks to early detection, Lind is now cancer-free.
"It wouldn't have been identified if I hadn't gone when I turned 45, getting a colonoscopy. I could be in a much different place, you know. Say I didn't go for five years, who knows what, what would have happened?" Lind said.
He'll have to get a colonoscopy once a year but says it's a small price to pay for a future with his family.
"Don't put it off. Just go get it done," Lind said.
