Dan Sparks
"I didn’t really have any symptoms. There was nothing obviously wrong and I’ve always been extremely healthy. My family and friends encouraged me to have a colonoscopy, a recommended colon cancer screening for those age 50 or above. So it wasn’t like I had symptoms and said, ‘Hey, you know what? I’d better get to the doctor.’
"I went in for a colonoscopy which I thought would be pretty simple and it was. I thought I’d wake up, there’d be juice and cookies and I’d be on my way. Instead, I found out I had colon cancer.
"My doctors were great. They stepped me through the whole procedure. They were very supportive and extremely patient with me because, at times, I probably wasn’t easy to deal with.
"Today, I belong to a support group here at St. Joseph Hospital. And I encourage people to get checked. The colonoscopy is simple; it’s a piece of cake, a no-brainer. It’s easy to do and not even painful. And you’ll know and can move on with your life. But if you don’t go in, and procrastinate like I did, you’ll end up with major surgery.
"There’s still a lot of life left in me. I wake up every day and just thank God that I went in."
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