For today’s topic, I’d like to introduce you to my colleague, Dr. James Schoenecker Jr:

Dr. Schoenecker earned a Chemistry degree and his MD degree from the University of Texas.  He finished his Internal Medicine residency in Houston at Hermann Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Hospital, and LBJ County Hospital.  Dr. Schoenecker then completed a Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.  He entered private solo practice in Brownwood, Texas in 1994 and served that community until 2006 when he joined Northwest Gastroenterology in Bellingham.

As a Gastroenterologist, I have performed thousands of colonoscopies and then I was faced with needing one myself. I had a bit of anxiety – not uncommon when the doctor becomes the patient, but I drew reassurance through memories of all those patients I had put through the same thing, and the knowledge that it just isn’t that bad by their reports. Patients have always told me it’s easy, that they were expecting a lot worse (there are alot of rumors out there).

I contacted my old friend Jaime from Gastroenterology training days and he was happy to oblige. A painless telephone interview with one of his nurses gave them a sketch of my health history. I made a point about my family history of colon polyps and colon cancer.

Next I was given instructions to prepare for the exam. This part I was curious about. After all, not once had I spent the evening with a patient in their bathroom the night before a colonoscopy. I had very little idea what goes on in there. And, I am ashamed to say; I had never before tasted the laxative. I guess the chickens always come home to roost and now I would be faced with “the jug”. Was it really that bad? Could I drink all of it? What does it taste like? I can report to you six diarrheal bowel movements later, it was easy. The taste was tolerable, bowel movements were easy, it was all over in a few hours, and I had a good nights sleep.

The next morning smiling nurses put an IV easily in my hand. Endoscopy nurses do this stuff everyday and are very skilled at placing an IV, this I knew. I said hello to my doctor and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery bed. I didn’t even realize the colonoscopy was finished! I asked my wife when it was going to start and she had a good laugh. Aside from passing a little gas and being a bit unsteady on my feet at first, I recovered quickly. Jaime told me about the polyp he removed and that once the pathologists look at it I would receive a report. A week later I got my answer – nothing to worry about, but I should probably have another colonoscopy in 5 years.

I’ll be much less anxious the next time. After all, the experience was simple and painless. I know what to expect and I know the extreme importance of the exam. If polyps are removed from the colon then the risk of colon cancer is greatly reduced. I hope this message continues to permeate the public and colon cancer rates continue to drop.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Colon Cancer Awareness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.