Stigma begone: If you’re in your mid-40s, schedule a colonoscopy without delay. It’s fine! Really!

I don’t like to preach in these columns. I’d rather poke fun and spoof craven politicians. This world contains many people who believe many different things, and I like to acknowledge that wondrous diversity. 

But sometimes, circumstances demand a bit of the old fire and brimstone.

If you are 45 or older — or if you’re someone who has a family history of colon cancer and related conditions — for goodness’ sake, get a colonoscopy. The procedure is generally covered by insurance and could save your life or the life of someone you love. If that’s not worth a bit of pulpit-thumping, I don’t know what is.

We’re talking about this today because I had my first colonoscopy Sept. 4. It went about as well as such a procedure could go, but I still dillydallied for a year or two longer than recommended. Please: If you or anyone has been sitting on the fence about the procedure, just go do it.

Listen, this subject makes me a little uncomfortable, too. No one likes to dwell on their lower digestive system, much less the preparations necessary to clean that system out for thorough examination via mechanical snake. On the other hand, we’ve all had a terrible stomach bug at one point or another in our lives. We know what it’s like to have abdominal discomfort and diarrhea.

That small amount of discomfort — it takes at most a day or two — is a small price to pay to screen for an illness found more and more often in younger and younger people.

You might have heard the names of some recent victims. Actors Chadwick Boseman and James Van Der Beek both died of colon cancer in their 40s. Actress Catherine O’Hara died after a battle with rectal cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is “now the No. 1 cause of cancer-related mortality. In 2026, an estimated 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed, and 55,230 people will die from the disease, including 200 diagnoses each day in people younger than 65.”

Because of all this, the ACA now recommends that those at average risk receive their screening at age 45.

Colonoscopies don’t just screen for cancer. They also prevent it. If the doctor performing the procedure spots a polyp — a small growth on the lining of the colon — he or she can snip it off during the procedure. Removing polyps prevents them from growing, changing or otherwise mutating into cancer.

During my colonoscopy, the doctor found a single, 3-millimeter polyp. It turned out to be benign, and I can wait a decade until my next appointment with the scope. If the polyp had been precancerous, removal would have stopped it cold.

There are other options, of course. Various tests look for DNA changes or microscopic amounts blood in patients’ stool. For those who want to avoid the fraught preparation and anesthesia of a colonoscopy, such tests can be a worthwhile alternative.

However, these tests can produce false positives. The next step for any positive results is to undergo — you guessed it — a full colonoscopy.

My personal advice is to avoid such half measures and just go for the full-blown procedure. Depending on your results, you may be able to wait as long as a decade until your next screening. You may need to go back in three or five or seven years, but you will have still gained peace of mind and prevented any growths from causing havoc.

Yes, the whole procedure sounds a bit gross.

No one likes to think too much about their bathroom visits or having doctors scope their nether regions. But the more that we avoid these topics — the more that we act as though there’s something embarrassing or awkward or shameful about them — the more we prevent people from obtaining the care they need.

That’s why I chose to preach today. There’s nothing weird or bad about taking care of your health and receiving routine preventative care. Push past any awkwardness, get yourself checked out and move ahead.

Then we can all get back to making fun of Roger Marshall.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. His first book, “Opinionated: Kansas Journalists Who Proved Why Commentary Matters — Then and Now,” comes out Sept. 29 from the University Press of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.