Since both a parent and a lineal grandparent died in their 50s of colon cancer, a colonoscopy is good idea for me.
This was my fourth.
I had two polyps removed in 2011. Today, 6 polyps and hyperplastic lesions.
I usually blow off insurance, but this year went all out to get various labs done with some serious insurance fights over their BS.
They really don't like to pay, so then we have to do it the hard way - that costs me time and them, more money.
(if they gratuitously argued over a local dr, and then you went to MDA/MSK to drive it home ....)
BS with mpMRI for prostate and then colonoscopy for CRC screening - idiot on the phone with the hospital insurance concierge "we won't pay (colonoscopy) because" over limit for one disease (screening procedures) because it might be mets for one cancer (CRC, prostate) or the other.
Whaaaaaaaat?!? (thump)
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This year has been especially complex in a Covid worry zone, especially around the hospitals. My wife lost one long time friend this spring, with lots of (small) college C19 alumni funerals. One of the superwealthy got killed early on last year, dead in 3 days, before he knew what hit him. So we took Covid preparations pretty serious all year, with lots of comorbidities, a lot of my mindhsare has been both personal and for exposed family members. Of course **we** were already stockpiled on megavitamin D3, quercetin and IV vitamin C but with "kids" 1000s of miles afield in hot spot cities, that breaks down. We finally began to get Ivermectin (IVM) compounded locally in April, after 8 months but still with lots of legal turmoil, with outright "legal" attacks on some of the IVM drs.
In the hospitals with insurance, very inefficient. A trip for this, a trip for that, drs MIA 2-4 days/wk and half or quarter days (vs good walk-in service Mon - Sat noon). After I put on 10 kg (locked down on walking and roaming, poor volume control), one machine choked - another trip. I've had two rtPCR tests in 10 days and the StarWars getup too many days these past two weeks.
In the hospital most drs were towing the company/media lines against ivermectin prescriptions. And sometimes I correct them. I'm annoyed as hell with multiple 1+ hr trips, wait times, $$$ and C19 theatrics.
Yesterday, I finally got my "good" IVM scrip for travel from one of the hospitals' drs:
2 tablets once weekly (with a meal); 3 tablets for exposure and 48 hrs later; for symptomatic illness 4 tablets for (up to) 7 days.
(our initial scrip was insufficient for serious IVM carry across borders for over a week or two, largest size IVM pills are 12 mg, 15mg, or 18 mg in different places).
In the colonoscopy dept, the nurses are interested in the IVM discussion. The anesthesiologist asked me if I was vaccinated and I said not this year, that I decided I could do better for now with high dose - high frequency IVM. Especially with many Western vaccines in progress but corners cut, I would wait at least another year (or 3) for the dust to settle. He seemed satisfied with that.