All news
One mom, leading by example
Publication Date:1/31/2009 5:59:00 PM
Cancer survivor Beverly Ryan and her two children, Glynn and Cyndi, are living proof that colon cancer is preventable if you have a screening colonoscopy. Ryan´s colonoscopy prompted her two children to be screened — maybe saving all three.
In 2003, Ryan opted to have a non-invasive virtual colonoscopy that uses imagery reconstructed from CT scans or an MRI. All was clear. However, in August 2006, during a routine check-up that included a minimally invasive colonoscopy, 10 polyps were found. A second traditional colonoscopy and second biopsy confirmed the polyps were cancerous, requiring surgery to remove a small portion of Ryan´s colon.
"The day Dr. Mark Pidala told me I would need surgery; my first response was that it was a busy time at work to take time off," Ryan recalls. "Now I know that it all could have been prevented if I´d had a traditional colonoscopy years earlier. I began urging my children to have screening colonoscopies."
Ryan´s daughter Cyndi, a 44-year old Continental flight attendant, made time for a colonoscopy that found two polyps, one precancerous. Both were removed. Her son Glynn´s colonoscopy revealed seven polyps, with three precancerous ones, and again all were removed.
"This highly preventable cancer continues to claim 50,000 lives each year," said Mark Pidala, M.D. of the Colon & Rectal Clinic. "With routine colonoscopies, this statistic can be reduced."
by
