Congratulations on hav­ing had your colonoscopy...
wasn't so bad, was it? You have joined an elite group of Americans...
Unfortunately peo­ple are not get­ting their colonoscopy done! Now it's time to join in a vast army of colonoscopy nag­gers, and accept my 'Cheek Check Challenge'! Early detec­tion of colon can­cer leads to cure in 90%, yet we only detect 38% in the early stages.
It attacks men and women equally, and will beset 6% of Amer­i­cans.
Although most major insur­ers now cover colon can­cer screen­ing by colonoscopy for aver­age risk, assymp­to­matic patients over 50...
• Only a dis­ap­point­ing 20% at age 50 or older have an annual rec­tal exam and stool test for blood • Only 30% of at 50 or above had flex­i­ble sig­moi­doscopy or colonoscopy over the last five years • And 60% of patients say that their MDs didn't rec­om­mend colon can­cer screen­ing! They don't know that they're sup­posed to have one! I dare YOU to take the 'Cheek Check Challenge'! Stand up, and reach your hands down low behind you and grab.
You should now be in con­tact with your own behind.
Count your num­ber of but­tocks.
This should be easy.
Most peo­ple have two.
The 'Cheek Check Chal­lenge' will honor your two but­tocks, and the ver­ti­cal smile between.
I chal­lenge you, for the next twenty-five con­sec­u­tive days after read­ing this issue (and hav­ing had your colonoscopy done), to rec­om­mend to two peo­ple per day (one in honor of each but­tock) that they have a colonoscopy.
For the next 25 days, rec­om­mend colonoscopy to YOUR fam­ily, friends, cowork­ers, or acquain­tances over age 50.
Your mail­man, your min­is­ter, rabbi, or pas­tor, your dry clean­ing clerk.
Your next door neigh­bor.
Your spouse.
Your best friends.
Your Christ­mas card list.
Your child's soc­cer coach or teacher.
Your mother-in-law.
Your brother.
Everybody's got a colon...
just trust me on this.
Just two a day...
that's both your goal and your limit.
Num­ber a sheet of paper, from one to fifty, and write down their names as you tell them, these peo­ple who touch your life.
These peo­ple who you may have influ­enced with your real life story of how sim­ple colonoscopy is, and how poten­tially lifesaving.
If you tell two fam­ily, friends, or cowork­ers per day, and they get a colonoscopy done...
and you do the 'Cheek Check Chal­lenge' for the twenty-five days I asked of you...
THREE peo­ple close to YOU will have early detec­tion or pre­ven­tion of a colon can­cer! Not a bad twenty five days work! Congratulations! YOU have com­pleted the Cheek Check Chal­lenge! Now give me a big ver­ti­cal smile!