James Van Der Beek Dies at 48, Cancer

This one sucks for a number of reasons for me. First because it’s depressing that he was recently trying to sell movie/TV memorabilia to cover the cost of his cancer treatment which is an indictment of the state of healthcare in our country.

And second, because I got to know him a bit through a celebrity charity event called the Big Slick that’s held in Kansas City every year. I spent the weekend with him a couple of years in a row and he was incredibly nice, very down to earth, a good athlete, and not deserving of what happened to him.

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Obligatory fuck cancer.
 
duluoz said:
Damn that sucks. So he was 48, and diagnosed in 2023 at around 45.

Anyone that age who hasn’t got your pooper scoped yet, oughta get in.
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The recommendation is now for routine colonoscopies to start at 45, and may be lowered further due to number of advanced cases that continue to increase in younger patients. I haven’t worked at a cancer center in a few years but the uptick in young patients getting diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer was very noticeable. Even patients in their early to mid 30s. If you have any symptoms at all, please get checked and advocate for yourself.
 
I remember watching Dawson's Creek back in the day. Stopped watching after maybe 3 seasons. Also remember him in Varsity Blues, and that famous line, "I don't want your life!" He was really good in the sitcom Don't Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23, too.
 
nrsair said:
The recommendation is now for routine colonoscopies to start at 45, and may be lowered further due to number of advanced cases that continue to increase in younger patients. I haven’t worked at a cancer center in a few years but the uptick in young patients getting diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer was very noticeable. Even patients in their early to mid 30s. If you have any symptoms at all, please get checked and advocate for yourself.
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I’ve been having some digestive issues that are probably just related to acid reflux but my doctor recommended doing a dual endoscopy and colonoscopy. People made the prep out to be the worst thing ever and I actually didn’t think it was bad at all. I’m 40 and now I don’t have to get a colonoscopy until I’m 50 so it’s nice to know I’m clear for 10 years. Definitely after seeing all the news as you describe.
 
Rock said:
I’ve been having some digestive issues that are probably just related to acid reflux but my doctor recommended doing a dual endoscopy and colonoscopy. People made the prep out to be the worst thing ever and I actually didn’t think it was bad at all. I’m 40 and now I don’t have to get a colonoscopy until I’m 50 so it’s nice to know I’m clear for 10 years. Definitely after seeing all the news as you describe.
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The prep is the worst part
 
nrsair said:
The recommendation is now for routine colonoscopies to start at 45, and may be lowered further due to number of advanced cases that continue to increase in younger patients. I haven’t worked at a cancer center in a few years but the uptick in young patients getting diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer was very noticeable. Even patients in their early to mid 30s. If you have any symptoms at all, please get checked and advocate for yourself.
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western diet FTW o_O
 
theel4life said:
The prep is the worst part
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Yeah, for me it wasn’t bad at all. People made the stuff you have to drink out to taste like death. I bought the generic version plus some lemon lime Gatorade mix and it basically tasted like a watered down margarita. It was almost even refreshing.

And then I was sitting on the couch, I think watching a UNC game, just had to get up to go to the bathroom maybe once every 20 minutes or so. I wasn’t glued to the toilet like people said. It wasn’t excruciating stomach feelings or whatever.

Maybe I just got lucky.
 
Rock said:
Yeah, for me it wasn’t bad at all. People made the stuff you have to drink out to taste like death. I bought the generic version plus some lemon lime Gatorade mix and it basically tasted like a watered down margarita. It was almost even refreshing.

And then I was sitting on the couch, I think watching a UNC game, just had to get up to go to the bathroom maybe once every 20 minutes or so. I wasn’t glued to the toilet like people said. It wasn’t excruciating stomach feelings or whatever.

Maybe I just got lucky.
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For me, the prep was bad. I didn't know you could use Gatorade to make it taste better. I think there are also pills you can take now which would be way better than the liquid.

But like you, I don't remember it being all that terrible once I forced the prep down. Plenty of diarrhea but you weren't glued to the toilet. And the procedure is a breeze. Fall asleep and wake up.

If anyone is younger than the guidelines and doesn't want to do the colonoscopy, ask your doctor about the poop in the box option. I did that before I hit 50. It's not as good as a colonoscopy but it's good.
 
Rock said:
Yeah, for me it wasn’t bad at all. People made the stuff you have to drink out to taste like death. I bought the generic version plus some lemon lime Gatorade mix and it basically tasted like a watered down margarita. It was almost even refreshing.

And then I was sitting on the couch, I think watching a UNC game, just had to get up to go to the bathroom maybe once every 20 minutes or so. I wasn’t glued to the toilet like people said. It wasn’t excruciating stomach feelings or whatever.

Maybe I just got lucky.
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I agree with this. I didn’t hate the Su-Prep, I had no issues drinking it. Spending so much time on the toilet sucks, and the liquid diet is no fun. Put all of that together and the day before the procedure is worse than the procedure itself.
 
Rock said:
Yeah, for me it wasn’t bad at all. People made the stuff you have to drink out to taste like death. I bought the generic version plus some lemon lime Gatorade mix and it basically tasted like a watered down margarita. It was almost even refreshing.

And then I was sitting on the couch, I think watching a UNC game, just had to get up to go to the bathroom maybe once every 20 minutes or so. I wasn’t glued to the toilet like people said. It wasn’t excruciating stomach feelings or whatever.

Maybe I just got lucky.
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Watching a UNC game is good to clear the system out of all ends

Yeah the prep wasn't that bad. Drink it out of a straw and make sure it's cold

No. You will not sleep well the night before. Yes you will sleep great afterwards.

The worst part was just the day before it's hard to not get hungry. Broth and Jell-O only go so far

I got a 7 year all clear.
 
gtyellowjacket said:
For me, the prep was bad. I didn't know you could use Gatorade to make it taste better. I think there are also pills you can take now which would be way better than the liquid.

But like you, I don't remember it being all that terrible once I forced the prep down. Plenty of diarrhea but you weren't glued to the toilet. And the procedure is a breeze. Fall asleep and wake up.

If anyone is younger than the guidelines and doesn't want to do the colonoscopy, ask your doctor about the poop in the box option. I did that before I hit 50. It's not as good as a colonoscopy but it's good.
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They didn't tell you to mix with Gatorade? You got screwed!!!

Also yeah the box thing is probably good before 45. After, no way would I recommend it. Like if you have a polyp, and most people do, you want it removed
 
Rock said:
I’ve been having some digestive issues that are probably just related to acid reflux but my doctor recommended doing a dual endoscopy and colonoscopy. People made the prep out to be the worst thing ever and I actually didn’t think it was bad at all. I’m 40 and now I don’t have to get a colonoscopy until I’m 50 so it’s nice to know I’m clear for 10 years. Definitely after seeing all the news as you describe.
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I'm with you, @Rock. I had one done ten years ago and I didn't think the prep was nearly as bad as people make out.
 
I used the pills. If you have problems swallowing pills, you might not like this path. It's two courses of 12 large horse-sized pills. Pills do not bother me. I did them in batches of 2 at a time. Took <1 minute then I was back to work. I've heard the liquids are nasty, particularly depending on the flavor. But the pills were a piece of cake.
 
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