I once heard a definition of paradox - when the specialist agrees with the general practitioner. In my case, it was the specialist agreeing with the specialist.

OK, a bit of background here. Two weeks ago, I went in for my upper endoscopy (I know, I promised pictures, but I haven't had a chance to scan them yet - coming soon) and today I had my followup appointment. The abrasions they saw in my stomach are pre-ulcers, but not ulcers, and the medication I'm taking will help prevent ulcers from forming and repair the abrasions. The "interesting" spot they found in my upper small intestine is just an inflammation, not an infection. So, good news, right? Well, I asked about the colonoscopy I'd had a while back and the directions I got from the other specialist to have a colonoscopy every couple of years. She had found and removed a few polyps in my colon, and based her determination on that. So he called over, got the results from the biopsy of those polyps, and confirmed the date that I had the procedure done.

Well, it was two years ago, and the reason they recommended that was because the polyps were pre-cancerous.

Pre. Cancerous.

I think I remember the surgeon telling me that a couple of years ago, but the thing I focused on was the "colonoscopy every two years" part. So, I have my next colonoscopy happens in a week. Next Monday. Right after Thanksgiving.

Pre. Cancerous.

I know that when detected early enough, colon cancer is curable. And I know that if I'm having a colonoscopy done every two years, or more often if any pre-cancerous polyps are identified as "aggressive," that I shouldn't have any issues with not finding it soon enough. It's just the words that are getting under my skin.

Pre. Cancerous.

I'm way too young to worry about this kind of stuff. My wife is way too young to worry about me worrying about this stuff. So I'm trying to push it out of my mind. But that's going to be hard to do when I start my liquid diet on Saturday and drink all the lovely laxative nonsense that I have to consume on Sunday, not to mention the fallout from that, so to speak.

So long as I remain a "pre" I'll be perfectly happy, if not just a bit nervous. I'll gladly go through annual, or semi-annual, colonoscopies to keep myself in the "pre" stage.

Don't get me wrong, if I need to, I will become a cancer survivor. But I'd just as soon not go there. So I will do everything I need to in order to stay a "pre" in this lifetime.