I roused briefly from my anesthesiainduced sleep and found myself looking at a large screen with a picture of a pinkish tunnel.
How odd. You wouldn’t think they would show movies for people while they are having colonoscopies.
And what’s with the tunnel? If they’d asked, I would have requested a western or maybe an Army flick.
It was then that I realized I was getting a probe’s eye view of my colon in real time.
Cool. I was aware of the colonoscope moving ever so slightly, but it didn’t hurt and I was fascinated by the video.
After a few seconds, the anesthesiologist noticed I was awake and, since I hadn’t paid extra to watch the show, turned the juice up a quarter of a turn and put me back to sleep in no time.
That was my first colonoscopy, but I have had others since and had an appointment on Wednesday to set up another one.
You get to be my age, they like you to have them done more regularly.
And for good reason. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths and is predicted to take more than 52,000 lives this year.
I don’t want to be part of that number, so I am more than happy to let the doctor explore the inner workings of my digestive system.
People often complain about the process of getting ready for a colonoscopy, but I have never had much of a problem from it or found it uncomfortable.
Chug a few pints of liquid and don’t eat after 6 p.m. I can handle that.
Given the possible alternatives, I think it’s small price to pay.