A DeSoto woman credits her sister's cancer death for saving her own life.
Lynda Russell is proud to say she is cancer-free but it came at a great cost.
Russell lost her sister to colon cancer when her sister was 60 years old.
They have a family history of polyps but neither Russell nor any of her siblings had ever undergone a colonoscopy.
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"She sent the text to us all and just basically said, 'I have cancer and it's everywhere. It's metastasized everywhere,' but it started from colon cancer," said Russell.
Doctors believed the tumor had been growing inside Debbie for five years.
"My grandfather and my mom always had polyps when they were screened. We should have known because, with that kind of history, you should start at 50 or before, but 50 for sure and we didn't. I feel that is why Debbie ended up with cancer," said Russell.
After her sister's death, Russell and her other siblings had their first colonoscopy.
Doctors found polyps in all of the siblings and found that Russell's was cancerous.
"Debbie and God saved my life because I know I wouldn't have… I had no plans on getting a colonoscopy," said Russell.
Methodist Health colorectal surgeon Dr. Anand Lodha says colon cancer cases have been increasing among people ages 40 to 50 in recent decades, prompting guidelines to lower the recommended age of a colonoscopy to 45.
He said many of the younger patients have no risk factors, like a family history.
"We're having to look at the symptoms that they're showing just with a much more critical eye in terms of rectal bleeding, or anemia, or change in bowel habits," said Dr. Lodha.
People with a family history, however, should talk with the doctors about getting screened earlier in life.
It's recommended that if you have an immediate family member diagnosed with colon cancer, you should get screened 10 years younger than the age of the loved one at his/her diagnosis.
Russell shares her story to encourage everyone to get their screenings at the appropriate time.
"Go get checked, no matter your age, no matter if insurance won't pay -- because at the end of the day, making payments may take as long as you need but get it done so you can be alive," said Russell.
