David Dunlavy of Clintonville does not like doctors, dentists or the like. Therefore, it took a lot of convincing from family, his family physician Kimberly Brown, MD, at ThedaCare Physicians-New London, and her nurse to get him to get a colonoscopy last August. “I probably wouldn’t have done it without some prodding,” said Dunlavy, 51. “I’m Irish and I’m stubborn.”
Dunlavy did have a reason for getting a colonoscopy. His mother passed away from colon cancer in 2001. He also had a friend die from stage four liver cancer. But he never gave going to the doctor any big thought. “I don’t go unless I’m dying,” he said. “I guess I never had use for doctors.”
Ultimately, he found the procedure was easier than he thought. Dr. Joseph Lamb from ThedaCare Physicians performed the procedure at ThedaCare Medical Center-New London. He removed four polyps, which were benign. But Dunlavy was told that if had waited any longer, one could have been cancerous. “I was pretty happy I went after I found out I had four of them,” he said.
Dunlavy said he did not have any symptoms. Had noticed a little blood in his stool but thought it was from hemorrhoids. ”I tell ya, after I had it done, I never knew that I was that close to having this problem.”
He said his biggest reservations were the unknown about the procedure, from having to prepare for it to being put under. “I’m a big macho man,” he said, noting the way a colonoscopy done is “not something you’re proud of. It’s not something glamorous.”
The hardest part, he said, was the fasting before the procedure. “I like to eat,” he said. “When I got to drink that concoction that was probably the best part because I was so hungry it tasted so good.”
Dunlavy said he appreciated the support from his family physician, Dr. Kimberly Brown, the nurses and surgeon. “I can’t say enough about the doctors,” he said. “They are super nice.”
The nurses, too, helped make the process easier. “They are all decent putting up with me,” he said.
Dunlavy said others should take getting a colonoscopy more seriously than he did. “If it’s in your family, get it done,” he said. “It’s something very simple. If you can cure it before it happens, I totally recommend it.”
