Now I Know How A Muppet Feels!

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, and if ever there was a cause we can get behind, this is it! When early detection and treatment can have such a significant impact on patient outcomes, we’re all about spreading the word.

Let’s not kid ourselves.  Having  a colonscopy is not on most people’s Absolute Favorite Things To Do Ever list.  There’s a lot of fear and misunderstanding out there about exactly what the procedure involves, compounding by the embarrassment people feel when talking about sensitive areas.

As health care providers, we can use humor to help patients overcome that fear.  Providing education doesn’t have to be boring — in fact, a little laugh can help the patient retain information.  We remember what we laugh about. Read the story »

What Do You Need To Do At Fifty? You Need Your Colonoscopy: No Ifs, Ands, Or Butts! by Patricia L. Raymond, MD, FACP, FACG

I’m proud to be a Big Buttinski. After all, I chose to become a Gastroenterologist. And   I want you to get your colonoscopy now.

You think that I am going to harp on the medical reasons, don’t you? About how 40% of Americans at forty have one or more colon polyps, little fleshy mushroom–like growths, sprouting in their colon.  And how these polyps, usually over a ten to twelve year span, may proceed onto cancer in 6% of us. That as our number two cancer killer, after lung, you really need your colonoscopy done to look for and remove those polyps, simply because now you’re fifty.

Nah. Too easy. Instead, I’m going to tweak most Americans two darkest desires: greed and the quest for fame. Read the story »

Too Gross To Giggle? The Right Time for Fart Jokes

Laugh, and the world laughs with you.  Fart, and they stop laughing.

Our focus on Colon Cancer awareness month presents us with a challenge: so much of the humor — the jokes that crack us up! — center around things that we, in polite society (or what passes for polite society) simply don’t talk about.  Farting, bodily fluids, and the sheer joy of having a large camera and a surgical team get up close and personal with your colon aren’t really dinner time conversation.

Unless, of course, you’re a nurse.  In that case, there’s no limit on what you’re willing to talk about, even while wolfing down what the cafeteria assures you is chili con carne.  A true sign that you’ve ‘arrived’ as a nurse is the ability to clear diners from the NEXT table at the restaurant, simply by talking shop…but that’s not what we’re talking about today.

When we’re talking with colleagues, peers, and those loved ones who are well used to our stories about death, dismemberment, and slip-sliding our way through a Code Brown, almost everything is fair game. But what happens when we’re talking with our patients? Is humor appropriate, especially during procedures like colonscopies, where the patient may feel ill at ease and uncomfortable? Read the story »