Healthy Aging Month: Orlando man completes chemo after early colon cancer diagnosis
Jason Jose, an Orlando Health Digestive Health Institute employee, shares his experience of overcoming colon cancer after initially hesitating to get a colonoscopy.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
September is Healthy Aging Month.
During that time, Jason Jose, 47, marked the end of his chemotherapy treatment by ringing the bell, celebrating a major milestone in his fight against colon cancer after early detection.
Jose noticed stomach pain and discomfort, which he brought to the attention of a fellow colleague, Dr. Udayakumar Navaneethan, who urged Jose to get a colonoscopy.
Jose, who works at the Orlando Health Digestive Health Institute, is thankful he listened to his doctors, as the colonoscopy revealed his cancer early.
Dr. Udayakumar Navaneethan, a physician at the institute, explained why many people are reluctant to undergo the procedure.
“A lot of people around the age of 45, 47, 48 are hesitant because they’re young, they feel they are healthy, they’re invincible,” Navaneethan said.
“They don’t want to go through the pain of taking a bowel preparation, cleaning up the colon and it’s ’embarrassing’ to get a colonoscopy.”
Reflecting on Jose’s case, Navaneethan added, “I’m very happy for him just because we were able to find it early.”
Jose initially experienced stomach discomfort, but never suspected it could be cancer.
“It hit me hard,” Jose said. “I really had no symptoms.”
Navaneethan noted an increase in colon cancer diagnoses among younger individuals.
“We are seeing a lot of young people with colon cancer,” he said.
“We don’t know what the reason is. It’s probably multifactorial: obesity, metabolic syndrome, obviously processed foods, ultra-processed foods, too much red meat, no fruits and vegetables in the diet.”
Jose hopes his story will inspire others to take action for their health.
“I don’t know why people put it off, and I was one of them,” he said. “It is like the most easiest thing to do and I think everyone should do it. It could save your life.”
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