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.
Dr. Patricia Raymond’s article is a fantastic example of this. The article is so great that it can actually be read by two different audiences: those of us who need to get checked out, and frustrated avant-garde artists in search of inspiration!
I recently had to have this procedure myself, which was an exercise in looking for humor, no matter what the circumstances were. Of course, I was a little nervous, but I did the prep, showed up on time, as ready as I was ever going to be for this…and the nurse asked me for a photo ID.
Now, really, do they have lots of people coming in for this procedure under false pretenses? Are there thrill colonscopy seekers, just in it for the sheer joy of it? Could I have sent in a body double?!? The mind boggles.
Patients really do try, in this particular instance, to bring some humor to the table. From “Did you find the miners yet?” to “You should have at least bought me dinner first!” they’re using the power of laughter to diffuse tension, humanize the moment, and retain some element of control. When you’re stripped of your clothes, feeling more vulnerable than you ever have before, you use any asset you can to feel better: that’s why they laugh, and that’s why we should laugh with them!
