Behind the scenes of a colonoscopy with Beaumont Health

(FOX 2) - More than 50,000 Americans are estimated to die from colo-rectal cancer this year alone, one of them being a beloved member of our FOX 2 family and Detroit radio personality Jamie Samuelson. 

Even in his final days 48 year old, Jamie was using his voice to make a difference. On Monday, July 27 he went on his radio show on 97.1 The Ticket for what would turn out to be his final broadcast. He revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer in January 2019.
 

He said it wasn't a goodbye, but it was. On the following Saturday he died from colon cancer. 

This husband, father of three and beloved Detroit sports media personality leaves behind a big legacy, punctuated by this plea: "I want people of this age, my age, 40s - and even younger now - to get a colonoscopy. It can literally save your life. It literally can." 

RELATED: Remembering 97.1 Radio Host Jamie Samuelsen
  
At 51 years old, FOX 2's Deena Centofanti decided it was her turn. 

That takes us back to early morning in early March, right before the coronovirus changed everything. She went to Beaumont Medical Center in West Bloomfield for the colonoscopy.  

To prep, she went through rounds of a laxative cocktail starting the day before, meaning the worst part is over, says Beaumont colon-rectal surgeon Dr. Harry Wasvery. 
 
"Here we're looking for lumps and bumps in the colon and specifically little polyps. The goal is to get them out early and by doing such, we eliminate or at least decrease your chance of them growing to be anything later in life," Dr. Wasvery said.

Once in the room, Deena's out and the scope goes in. Remember, the idea is that it curves around the colon, blowing air and expanding it at the same time as the doctor looks for growths. 

It's about a 25-minute search and Dr. Wasvary doesn't discover anything unusual. 

The new age recommendation to get screened is 45 years old. 

Dr. Wasvary joined us live on FOX 2 to talk about the different screening methods and answer common questions. You can watch in the video player above.