Postby Rock_Robster » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:23 am
Sunnycd wrote:I have been wondering about when my kids, who are 18 and 20 y.o., should start having colonoscopies. There was no history of colon cancer in my family, and testing showed it wasn’t genetic. I read in this forum that it would be a good idea for them to get a life insurance prior to getting colonoscopies, since depending on diagnosis, they could be uninsurable down the road…
Both great questions. My view would be ‘as early as possible’, ie as early as you can find a good GI that’s willing to do them. The main thing then will be to make sure they keep them up regularly - if there’s no polyps found (and no know genetic link with your CRC) then you should discuss this with a good GI, but I would have thought 3 yearly is probably reasonable (they may prefer 5 however, though this feels a little long for me). The risks of a scope in an otherwise healthy person are very low (all complications rate is less than 0.3%), compared to the downside of missing something early. You may also have a battle with health insurance, depending on where you’re based.
I totally agree re life insurance. I’m so grateful I already had life and income protection insurance before I was diagnosed stage IV at 36 years old. I would like to get more now but of course that isn’t really an option, except through our pension programs (Australia) where they can’t exclude pre-existing conditions (but can enforce a waiting period). Life/IP insurance is generally cheaper the earlier you get it, so in my mind it makes sense to get it as soon as they start working (or if affordability is an issue, then perhaps as soon as they have a family or mortgage).
41M Australia
2018 Dx RC
G2 EMVI LVI, 4 liver mets
pT3N1aM1a Stage IVa MSS NRAS G13R
CEA 14>2>32>16>19>30>140>70
11/18 FOLFOX
3/19 Liver resection
5/19 Pelvic IMRT
7/19 ULAR
8/19 Liver met
8/19 FOLFOX, FOLFOXIRI, FOLFIRI
12/19 Liver resection
NED 2 years
11/21 Liver met, PALN, lung nodules
3/22 PVE, lymphadenectomy, liver SBRT
10/22 PALN SBRT
11/22 Liver mets, peri nodule. Xeloda+Bev
4/23 XELIRI+Bev
9/23 ATRIUM trial
12/23 Modified FOLFIRI+Bev
3/24 VAXINIA (CF33 + hNIS) trial