
Family History Important for Your Colon Health
One of the risk factors for colorectal cancer is having a family history of the disease. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), around 33 percent of individuals with colorectal cancer (CRC) have relatives who have also been diagnosed with the disease.
Commonwealth Endoscopy Center refused me a medically indicated colonoscopy because I was not yet 45 years old (43 and 11 months). An office staffer and a manager both argued that insurance wouldn't cover the procedure despite the fact that I'd already received written authorization from BCBS. I even offered to pay out of pocket and it was still a hard "no". A few weeks later, I underwent a colonoscopy at Morton Hospital under care of another local GI who resected multiple benign and pre-cancerous polyps and identified a 6.4 CM (2 1/2 INCH) TUMOR in my distal rectum which requires treatment from a specializing care team and surgeon at MGH in Boston. When it comes to cancer, it's worth standing up for yourself... shop around!