Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

“In the emergency room, I end up diagnosing a lot of cancer,” says Dr. Mylissa Graber, medical director of the emergency department at West Palm Beach’s Good Samaritan Medical Center. “People don’t go to the doctor, don’t follow up on getting their tests done, and show up when (diseases) are pretty advanced,” she said to the Palm Beach Post.

That is one reason why colon cancer has become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among U.S. men and women combined. Colon cancer is highly treatable if caught early. But symptoms of colon cancer are often unnoticed or nonexistent until the disease progresses into later stages.

Regular colon screenings with a colonoscopy are recommended for people beginning at age 50 and earlier for people with a family history or who have symptoms such as blood in the stool. But colonoscopies are intimidating.

The process involves sending a probe into the colon while the patient is sedated. To prepare for the procedure, patients must spend at day or two cleansing their bowels, which can be uncomfortable and confining. But enduring such procedures to ensure good health is a small price to pay.

If people would have regular checkups and screenings, and heed the advice of their doctors, Graber says, more diseases could be diagnosed in their earlier, more treatable stages. Graber recommends that everyone adopt a more proactive approach to their health care by having an open dialog with their primary care physician about their general health and their personal and family medical history.

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