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My best friend, Joanie, died of colon cancer

Joanie is the reason why I became the person who says to my friends turning 50: “Happy Birthday and please go get a colonoscopy.”

Do the math! You might be over 50; you might know a bunch of people over 50. They might not be getting their screenings. You might have missed yours. If you get yourself and your friends to make and keep that appointment you could be saving a lot of lives.

It might not be pleasant, but as someone who watched my best friend go through surgery, chemotherapy, palliative radiation and all the symptoms those treatments delivered, I promise: getting ready for a colonoscopy is no big deal if you put it in proper perspective.

I'm not Pollyanna. I know that not everyone will be able to access the preventive services, like colonoscopy, that they need. Getting everyone, and I mean everyone, health insurance, is a big problem that we need to be working on. And access to preventive screening is a big part of resolving the disparities in cancer-related deaths.

Now, some readers may know me as one of the writers of the disease blues music posts  — "Mosquito Moan" and "TB Blues"  and "Mosquito Moan" and that sort of thing. And yes, I looked for a great colon cancer blues song to end with. But you know what? All the colon cancer and colonoscopy songs are (forgive me) execrable.

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