THIS POST MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Did I get your attention?

Here is my colon cancer story. It's an important reminder of the importance of colonoscopies, especially at a younger age.

Earlier this year, I asked my doctor about potential hemorrhoids (TMI?), and she asked how old I was. I replied, "forty-five." She laughed and said, "Well, guess what? You earned yourself a colonoscopy!" (like it was a lottery prize).

I left the colonoscopy with an instruction to eat more fiber and a note that they sent one polyp off for review, but they did not have concerns.

So when the lab texted me the results while at work, I was shocked to see a scary red flag, red exclamation point, and red capital letters saying ABNORMAL.

I tried to shake it off but then I got a phone call thirty minutes later. What doctor calls on a Friday night at 5:40?

He apologized that I got the results before his call and then said a bunch of words, and eventually, I cut him off and said, "are you telling me I have cancer?"

Mind you, I had just filmed a TV show about people living with cancer a month before in the studio next to where I was receiving this news.

He said, "basically, yes," and then added, "it's so good we caught it now and not next year."

At this point, my anxious brain started screaming, 'what does that mean??!!' WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED NEXT YEAR?"

Instead, I said, "Sir, I'm sorry. This is kind of as much as I can absorb right now. I am filming a TV show, and I have to go."

Then I started crying in front of colleagues, unable to explain why because I didn't understand myself.

I have always known I would have skin cancer, and I have routinely. It's part of my family's history. The phrase skin cancer doesn't scare me, but who thinks about colon cancer, or as I have come to joke, 'the place where the sun doesn't shine!"

Like my skin cancer, it turns out I had a mild and treatable form. After a few advanced procedures, I should be fine. And, while I will have more frequent colonoscopies, the doctor was right. It's always better to catch things early for any reason. My aunt, a nurse, keeps repeating, "Cheryl, you might have saved your own life with that colonoscopy."

You can too. If you haven't had a colonoscopy, go schedule yours. 45 is the new 50 for screenings. Yeah, the prep sucks, but it sucks so much less than red flags in texts and death.

In the meantime, support cancer research and treatments by joining or supporting my team "rearview."

Finally, I must acknowledge that throughout my treatment, I have been acutely aware of how different my experience has been from the people of color whose cancer stories we had filmed. I never had my symptoms questioned. I was treated respectively at procedures. Friends in healthcare reviewed my results and connected me to the best doctors. I got care within TWO WEEKS, while people I coached waited months or more. And I have access to insurance. Today my cancer is and hopefully will remain in the rearview forever.