EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 8, 2021 Page 5
Seniors Reasons To Stop
Delaying A Colonoscopy
(BPT) - Thinking about a colonoscopy
may make you uncomfortable, and maybe
even a little worried - especially if you have
never had one before. But a colonoscopy is
a relatively simple procedure that may help
save your life by identifying the early signs
of colorectal cancer.
While you may have delayed some medical
visits because of the pandemic, you can
rest assured that health care providers have
worked hard to help ensure that procedures
like colonoscopies are conducted safely.
Putting screenings off, in contrast, may
be dangerous: Delayed cancer screenings
during the initial months of the COVID-19
pandemic are estimated to result in 10,000
excess colorectal and breast cancer deaths.
Why Screening is Important
It’s a good reminder that the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force recommends adults
age 50 to 75 be screened for colorectal
cancer. According to the American Cancer
Society, colorectal cancer is the third-leading
cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S.
- and early in the disease, there are often
no symptoms.
“Too often, when people begin experiencing
symptoms of colorectal cancer, the
disease has advanced to a point where it’s
much more difficult to treat,” said Dr. Philip
Painter, chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare
Medicare and Retirement. “That’s why
it’s so important to get screened at age 50
if you have no risk factors - and earlier, if
you do.”
People who are longtime smokers, overweight,
physically inactive and those with a
family history of colorectal cancer in a parent,
sibling or child are at an increased risk.
Nearly 148,000 new cases of colorectal
cancer were expected to be diagnosed in the
U.S. in 2020. About 80,000 of those cases
were estimated to be among adults 65 and
older. And yet only 61% of Americans age
50 and older have had a colonoscopy.
Colonoscopy Prep
You may be asked to begin a procedure
to help prepare the bowel and colon for
examination.
Your doctor will likely instruct you to cut
out fiber from your diet two days before
your colonoscopy. One day before, you
will eat no solid foods, and no liquids that
are orange or red. You may consume clear
juices, gelatins, popsicles, clear broth and
coffee or tea without creamer. The evening
or morning before your exam, you will drink
a liquid that will induce bowel movements.
You may find that the preparation for a
colonoscopy is not as unpleasant as you
have heard. In recent years, colon-cleansing
solutions have become better tasting, and
lower amounts of the laxative solution are
sometimes used.
The procedure itself is not lengthy - typically,
about 30 to 60 minutes. Sedation is
usually recommended, and you may feel
slight cramping during the exam, but many
may feel nothing at all.
If your results are negative, doctors typically
recommend another colonoscopy in 10 years.
“Taking preventive steps like getting your
colonoscopy can literally save your life,” Dr.
Painter said. “If you are over 50 and have not
yet had the test, it’s best to get that scheduled
as soon as possible.”
Still have questions or concerns? Talk to
your health care team. They are there to help. •
Rotary Club from front page
qualify for a governmental program that netted
the city of El Segundo $13,000.
She also mentioned that the ESRC had raised
$3,000 in a club fundraising drive, with the
greenbacks being earmarked for the continuing
fight against polio. The ESRC partnered with
local restaurants in the fundraising drive, which
promoted the purchasing of gift cards. It was a
win-win situation, with the collected funds adding
to the coffers in the fight against disease and
helping to support local restaurants as they
continue to operate under the guise of mandated
governmental restrictions. The Rotary partnered
with the Kiwanis Club, the El Segundo Library,
and the Recreation Department on the creation
of a Great Pumpkin sleigh that traversed the
streets of the city during the Halloween timeframe,
as well as diving in to participatein a
candy giveaway to local kids at Joslyn Center.
Smith said that the Rotary also sponsored
a Halloween decorating contest, as well as a
similar decorating contest that took place before
Christmas, hoping to give Zoomed-out youth
and parents the opportunity to decompress a
bit from the daily routine of staring at screens
and helping to foster their artistic ambitions.
Smith said that the Rotary Club has, at this
point, been able to weather the COVID storm,
noting that the ESRC has been able to continue
what she termed the “mini-grant program for
teachers.” She said that the grants, capped at
$250 bucks, were given to 26 teachers.
The 54th annual Mayor’s breakfast was held
virtually on April 2. El Segundo Mayor Drew
Boyles happens to be Smith’s son. She said
that the Rotary Club had decided to veer the
virtual breakfast into a fundraising opportunity,
with prizes involving restaurant and Chevron
gift cards. As of press time, she had raised,
through donations, more than $3,000. “With
literally no cost involved,” Smith said, “I am
excited that we can raise that much money.” The
proceeds are set to be split by the El Segundo
Education Foundation and the charitable literary
group “The World is Just a Book Away,”
which was slated to provide a speaker at last
Friday’s virtual meeting.
Other charitable events that the ESRC has
participated in since the lockdown include
the purchase of 24 sleeping bags, which were
donated to needy people who are living in tents
on hospital grounds in West L.A. The ESRC
had received funding from a Los-Angeles based
water district entity. Because in-person events
have had to be curtailed, the club has looked
for innovative ways to serve local citizens.
Their members have given food and cards to
residents at a local veteran’s home and plan
to award scholarships to El Segundo High
School seniors.
Smith said that the ESRC has ramped up its
work with CASE, a philanthropic organization
that attempts to provide food products and other
dry goods to locals in need and donate goods
to U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton
in Oceanside. And the club has plans in the
works for a Mother’s Day gift-basket promotion.
COVID, Smith said, has not stopped the
work of the ESRC. “We have actually been
pretty busy,” Smith said. “Even without doing
the huge events that we usually do, like (the
August) Movie in the Park, we are able to
continue the kind of work that we want to do
in the community.”
As mentioned, Smith will be turning over
the ESRC leadership reins to longtime Rotary
member Su this Summer. “He has avoided the
presidency,” she chuckled. “I think they ask
the newer members in the club” to become
president. “He has been such an asset to me
as president-elect. A fabulous person who has
stepped up to help me,” she said. “A real asset
to the club. He will run (his) presidency the
way that he wants to do it, as we all do. It
will be really cool. I am hoping that we will
get to the point that we can meet in person.
Having Zoom meetings every week since last
March is tough.”
Su said that, as a longtime ESRC member,
he had “avoided” taking on the presidency
responsibilities, as he focused on the needs
of his daughter, Sydney. But she is heading
back East in the Fall to attend college, so Ed
said, “now I am free.” He hopes to continue
many of the traditional, in-person events that
have been a trademark of the Rotary Club for
years, building relationships with those likeminded
folks in the city. “It all comes down
to helping more people,” he said.
Su said that when he became an ESRC
member some 20 years ago, he was looking
to find a way to give back to the community.
The Rotary Club provided a good fit to utilize
Su’s philanthropic philosophies. He said he
was “very comfortable” with the members he
met two decades ago, which prompted him to
become a member.
Su is ready to lead the ESRC forward starting
later this Summer. Asked if it was finally his
turn to ascend to the organization’s presidency,
Su said that “it was probably my turn to become
president a long time ago,” he laughed, “but
I was able to wiggle out of it. My main goal
is to do more work and to reach out to more
people who need help.”
It seems that the COVID scourge cannot
stifle the continuing efforts and the implementation
of charitable works by the members of
the ESRC. •
El Segundo Rotary’s incoming president Ed Su of Studio Printing.
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