Several years ago, I got a lovely reminder in the mail that due to my current age at the time, I needed to schedule my first colonoscopy.
If you’ve never had one before, I can think of hundreds of things that would take priority on a scale of pleasure.
That being said, colon cancer didn’t sound like something I would enjoy either, so I needed to get updated with a new general practitioner so that we could get the procedure scheduled.
I put that process off for about a year and then I finally found a local doctor who was taking on new patients and could help along the way.
Because cancer has affected both of my parents, claiming the life of my father in 2011 and my mother who has been in remission since 1993, it’s something I’m sensitive to and I want to do my best to stay on top of those things for myself.
So, each year, I’ve asked my doctor to take blood for a comprehensive panel: A1C, cholesterol, liver enzymes, etc.
Like many of us are cautioned not to do, I find it difficult to not go on Google and start looking into why certain numbers might be high or low respectively.
And, because I didn’t go to medical school, I don’t understand enough of the nuance to see how all the pieces might fit and craft a bigger picture.
What I do know is despite having an active job, lifting weights 4x/week, having a high step count, prioritizing sleep and having a “normal” BMI, there are still numbers that require greater attention.
In other words, books shouldn’t be judged by their covers and people in smaller bodies can have health issues just like people in larger bodies can.
But you wouldn’t necessarily know that unless you’re staying up on your bloodwork too.
I’m not in any obvious pain and despite having had the (mis)fortune of catching nearly every bug that’s crossed my path since last November, having up to date bloodwork helps to see what’s happening under the hood.
So, this is a much shorter post and actually a very strong suggestion, to call your doctor, schedule your annual bloodwork and stay on top of it each year.
While diet and exercise have an important place in your health, they can’t fix everything and it helps to have a doctor who cares about your wellbeing to help decipher what else needs a closer look.
(Photo courtesy of Kristine Wook)
