Lupus and Support: the benefits of Sharing with others

Let's talk colonoscopies. 

Or rather, let's talk about the power of conversation. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm old enough now that, at my most recent gynecologist appointment, my doctor wrote an order for me to get a colonoscopy. 

Blah. 

I've had an endoscopy for lupus before, which was unpleasant enough. But I know a colonoscopy is on a whole other level, one which I was really not looking forward to.

Which is why I mentioned it to my friends a few days later over coffee. We're all about the same age - colonoscopy eligible, if you will - so I thought we could commiserate together.

And one of my friends mentioned Cologuard. I'd never heard of it, but she explained it was an at-home colon screening test. To quote the website, it's a "non-invasive stool DNA test that screens for colon and rectal cancer and precancerous polyps." She said she and her husband had been doing them for several years as an alternative to the traditional colonoscopy. 

Okay then. Sign me up. Any option that avoids that nasty prep/laxative potion and  the procedure itself sounds good to me. 

So I called my gynecologist's office to request an order for Cologuard. And they had no idea what I was talking about. Really?! No one there has knowledge of Cologuard? And you're handing out orders for colonoscopies?? They recommended I call my primary care physician if I wanted to look into it further, but the directive from their office was still to get the colonoscopy. 

I DID want to look into it further.  But I currently don't have a primary care physician that I see regularly.  Between my team of specialists, I'm pretty well taken care of. So I planned to ask my rheumatologist at my next appointment scheduled about six weeks out. 

But guess what happened first? 

I got an email from my insurance company that said, at no cost to me, they would be sending both my husband and me colon cancer screening kits from Cologuard. I just had to accept or decline the offer. What!? Really?! 

It was too good to be true. I accepted, and sure enough, a few weeks later, free of charge, two at-home kits arrived in the mail. They are simple, easy to use, and require zero prep.  I understand there may come a time when the traditional procedure may be necessary. But until then, I'll take the free, simple, at-home option! 

I'm so glad I opened up to my friends about my medical woes. I would have definitely disregarded the insurance email, or at the very least, called my doctor's office about it, and been dismissed. I would have made a costly and time consuming appointment for a colonoscopy, and put myself through the inconvenient and uncomfortable process of the prep and procedure of the test. 

Given that I've been writing this blog for almost 20 years, I'm not particularly shy about sharing my medical trials and tribulations. But I figured out very early on in my diagnosis how beneficial it can be to talk to others about lupus. Attending support groups and talking with others not only allows them to shoulder some of the burden, it allows us to learn from the conversations we have. 

In this case, Conversation, one. Colonoscopy, zero!