Ok, this "copycat for less" post is inspired by this lovely lady's design. (See below) I stumbled upon these and loved them.
Yes, they serve no other purpose but to look pretty, but for this designer, that's enough. So, I decided to make my own.
Wooden beads, crocheted beads, loose glass/gemstone beads, and ribbon. All through amazon. I like it, there are things I would do differently if I chose to make again, but I still love the look! I think they would make great gifts too.
You might have heard, March is Colon Cancer Awareness month. Haven't heard? That's okay, I didn't know that until this year. I probably wouldn't even have given it a second thought...but this year is different. This year had a surprise for me.
I haven't told anyone except my closest family. It's sort of embarrassing and a bit uncomfortable...talking about that area of your anatomy. I didn't want to answer certain questions or divulge sensitive information...but I find signs to speak up now...like March being CCA month.
New Year's day I got quite a shock. No one is prepared to see blood where blood shouldn't be...but that's where I found myself. Using the restroom, finding blood. I initially panicked, but calmed down. I called my OB thinking it was due to Finn's delivery. She agreed that hemorrhoids from delivery sounded like the most likely culprit. I scheduled an appointment for an exam.
She found nothing. She said if the bleeding occurred again, I needed to see a gastroenterologist. She gave me a recommendation, and I left feeling unsure and unresolved. A week or so passed and I had no problems.
Then...the blood returned.
I called the gastroenterologist she recommended and made an appointment for an exam with him. After the office visit, he too could not determine the cause of bleeding. Again, probable hemorrhoids due to Finn's delivery was his best diagnosis, but he recommended a colonoscopy to be certain.
I sighed and squirmed internally.
"A colonoscopy? I was afraid of that. I DO NOT want to do that. I'm sure it's nothing. I just turned 30." I thought to myself. I did want to make sure, so, to error on the side of caution, I told the doctor I wanted to go ahead and schedule the colonoscopy.
The preparation was hell. I won't dive into that...but man...that was the least amount of fun I've had ever. Adverse side effects to the prescription was torture, and all I was focused on was not doing this again for another 20 years. (50 years old is the typically start age for colon cancer screening, aka colonoscopy.)
I made it to procedure day, the procedure room, and was put under anesthesia. The next thing I remember was waking up in recovery by the nurse. Chris was by my side and I was being handed grape juice.
In my groggy state my first thought came out. "Did they find anything?"
Internal hemorrhoids were found; the cause of my bleeding. Then, something I wasn't expecting. 4 polyps were found, removed, and tagged for biopsy.
Biopsy. There's a word you never like hearing.
2 weeks into being 30 and I was waiting for biopsy results. 14 days and they would have the results I was told. Now, I am supposed to not think about this for 2 weeks? Lucky (if that's the word for it) for me, the results were back in 5 days. A surprise email from my GI's office alerted me to my results.
Pathology Results. That was the title of the email.
I clicked and read.
All 4 were benign (not cancer). Hallelujah!
3 were a type of polyp that could never be cancerous...but 1, 1 was considered precancerous. 1 polyp, if left undetected, would most likely develop into cancer within the next 10 years. Meaning, before the age of 40, I would be getting very different results from my biopsy...if I even showed symptoms at all to schedule a colonoscopy.
Colon cancer is usually undetected until it is advanced with noticeable symptoms, which is why screenings are recommended before cancer can develop. Again, they recommend screenings starting at age 50, and rescreening every 10 years. Again, I am 30 years old. That's quite a gap.
With my surprising results, I now have to get a colonoscopy in 5 years to check again for any precancerous polyps and remove them before they have time to develop into cancer. This will occur at age 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, etc...
While I never had cancer, I had something that most likely was growing into cancer. Minor complications from Finn's delivery made these findings possible. What started out with me "blaming" my big baby boy, evolved into me thanking God for this wonky detour in my life path. Without Finn and his size, I wouldn't have formed internal hemorrhoids; without hemorrhoids, no blood; no blood, no colonoscopy; no colonoscopy, no discovery and removal of precancerous polyp. I do not like thinking about the alternate journey.
With my story I hope you decide to talk to your doctor about early screenings...especially if you have a family history of colon cancer like I have. It might literally save your life...I certainly feel it saved mine.
