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I mentioned above that I've never done the test BUT I feel strongly about the OPC (grape seed extract) I take now going on 21 yrs. So so many do not have this info.
Of course, there are no guarantees to anything we do or don't do.
My daughter who is now 52 and has had many colonoscopies due to stomach issues, long story, and she wants no more of these tests. She's taking grape seed ex some yrs now and her children too already, both teens.
Sad truth as a retired nurse is that colon cancer is one of the MOST survivable if caught and treated in time, but there lies the issues. Some people have NO desire to suffer thru the "treatment" process.
Sad truth as a retired nurse is that colon cancer is one of the MOST survivable if caught and treated in time, but there lies the issues. Some people have NO desire to suffer thru the "treatment" process.
Quality of Life versus Quantity of Life Issue. Not one size fits all.
Sad truth as a retired nurse is that colon cancer is one of the MOST survivable if caught and treated in time, but there lies the issues. Some people have NO desire to suffer thru the "treatment" process.
My first one I did drinking the stuff was the worse. The day I had it I was out like a light.
My next one not as bad since they had an easier prep to take. I also knew I would be sound asleep when I had it. Guess it was fear of not knowing what would happen. Also I am a big wimp but did it-
OP, Just reading your post again and see your mother is 77, my age and you mention a mental decline. Many are ending up with dementia and I know a lot of pretty sharp older people. If it were my mother and I wanted to help her, I would get her on some memory supplements. I have some friends who take supps for memory issues and find they help them. I've been working on my health alternatively for over 25 yrs and know grape seed extract helps with the anti aging issue.
You made the comment that these tests after 75 are pretty useless...I don't think I knew that but maybe I did. All the older people I know over 75 do not get these tests.
Anytime we go to an allopathic MD, they hit us with a list of tests we SHOULD get...ummm
Even my integrative MD pushed a little for tests and she has stopped.
There are many who work on prevention and more who don't in our country.
Quality of Life versus Quantity of Life Issue. Not one size fits all.
Absolutely. And my quality of life for the past seven years since my surgery/chemo has been great. I have enjoyed babysitting grandchildren, and attending their dance recitals, and listening to their school lessons and getting excited with them when they learn a new dance step or master a dive into the pool. Slipping them a dollar when they get a good report card. Spending a week every Summer at the beach. Walking a mile and a half every day (when the weather's good - I'm a wimp in the cold) Taking care of my own home and yard. Shopping for my own food and cooking it. Keeping my own appointments and tracking my own medications. Reading. Corresponding with my high school bestie. (Yes, we're still alive!) Enjoying my sons and their wives and watching them build lives for their families. Grands graduating from high school; two grands graduated from college; two more attending colleges - prestigious ones at that.
Does this sound like a life that one would wish to give up? Prudent management and paying attention to one's own body signals can catch the strange little signs that weren't there before. Wait too long before deciding that all is not well in there can make it impossible to treat the offender before it gets out of hand. And THAT is what ruins the Quality of Life issue.
I count myself lucky that the Quality and the Quantity thus far have been favorable. Made possible by the magic of "tests".
Refusing tests is the right of all of us. I make no apology for opting to undergo a test that might make it easier for me to decide what I want to do with the results.
I would not force her. The colonoscopy prep is a nightmare. It is worse than the procedure itself. Not only is she an adult she has not be declared incompetent. If there is no history and she never had any problems... I would let it go. My mother is 89 in August, never had one. Like someone else said- if there was a problem, what would you do about it? Make her have surgery- a possible colostomy? Chemo, radiation? Sometimes it's the quality of life that's important.
I would not force her. The colonoscopy prep is a nightmare. It is worse than the procedure itself. Not only is she an adult she has not be declared incompetent. If there is no history and she never had any problems... I would let it go. My mother is 89 in August, never had one. Like someone else said- if there was a problem, what would you do about it? Make her have surgery- a possible colostomy? Chemo, radiation? Sometimes it's the quality of life that's important.
She does have problems: rectal bleeding and constipation.
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