I was just tired all the time.
by Billie
(Iowa)
I am 53 years old and was anemic and tired a lot of the time. I blamed it on heavy menses. My two older sisters had the same problem in their 50's.
Both had colonoscopies that were normal and just took iron to rebuild their blood. However, even after I had a procedure to stop the heavy menses, called uterine ablation, I continued to be anemic.
My doctor encouraged me to have the colonoscopy last fall and I declined because of a high deductible with our health insurance. The anemia continued and this spring in March I decided to proceed with the colonoscopy; my sisters, who are both nurses, assured me that it would be normal like theirs was.
Guess what? I had colon cancer!! What a shock it was. I was the first in my family of 7 children to have any cancer. We were all shocked.
I went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. for surgery the following week and they did a colon resection and removed the mass and section of colon. I had no other symptoms other than the anemia/fatigue. I never expected to find out I had cancer either!!
I am now recovering from surgery on May 8 of this year and hoping and praying that I will be free of cancer.
Please get checked, even if you don't think you need to. If you are older than 50, you should do it. Especially do it if you are anemic and your doctor recommends it. It could save your life!
