“How’d it start, man? How did you know it was cancer?” I’ve been getting that question a lot lately.
That’s the problem– you don’t know. Right up until something catastrophic happens. For me, it was shitting blood. My first episode was two years ago– I thought it was just the hot chocolate I had for breakfast. But then, over the next few months, I noticed the episodes were getting more frequent, and there was more blood.
Last July, I lost so much blood, I had trouble standing up. Upon the recommendation of a doctor friend, I reluctantly showed up at St. Lukes BGC for blood transfusions. They wanted to do a colonoscopy then, but as the pandemic was getting worse, I thought I’d just come back for it when the COVID-19 situation simmered down somewhat. (Spoiler alert: it hasn’t.)
So for the next several months, I’d continue to deal with my episodes, not knowing exactly what triggered them. Man, that was frustrating. I had low energy, prostate issues, discomfort sitting down– not knowing it was cancer all along. Finally, I had that one bleeding episode so bad, I passed out and had to be carried out of the bedroom, into an ambulance, and then to the hospital straight away.
The point is this: you won’t know for sure until something disastrous happens to you. Sure, we all skipped out on our executive checkups this year and last because of the pandemic. But dude, if you notice something unusual with your body or your daily routine, start having a conversation with your doctor.
(TL;DR: Check yo’ self before you wreck yourself.)
