Bad news and good news—first the bad: A very close friend’s mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. But the very good news is that her disease was caught so early she won’t even need chemotherapy.
Why? She had a colonoscopy! Had she not taken this life saving step, a few years down the road she would have found herself in very serious—perhaps lethal—trouble.
Readers of SHS may recall that I became a big believer in colonoscopies after mine last summer disclosed a small benign tumor that was excised during the procedure. While it was not the kind that becomes cancerous, it could have grown to the point that I too might have been in for some serious trouble.
Colon cancer killed my father and I have seen the difficulties it can cause. But colon cancer is readily preventable—by removing pre-cancerous polyps—or detectable at the early and eminently treatable stage. If you are 50 or older and haven’t had a colonoscopy, please make an appointment for a specialist put a small diagnostic tube where the sun don’t shine. It won’t hurt. The drugs make it so you barely remember it. It may be a cliche` but it is still true: The life you save could well be your own.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
