Charmaina Bowers: Gastroenterology & Screening Colonoscopy

Gastroenterology & Screening Colonoscopy

“The problem is it comes on really slowly, so people don't realize it until they have it. Because once it comes, it's not good.”

Charmaina Bowers knows first-hand that colon cancer doesn’t care if you’re young or old or if you're a man or a woman. She also knows there is only one way to know for sure if the silent cancer is hiding inside your body before its too late.

Family history

It’s hard to imagine losing both parents within a short time frame. When that loss came as the result of the same illness, it was even more shocking for Charmaina Bowers.

Colon cancer has been a part of Charmaina's reality for more than a decade. As a young woman, both her parents were diagnosed—and ultimately died as a result of the disease—within just a few years of each other.

“Both my parents died at age 59 from colon cancer. My dad fought cancer for eight months before he passed; my mom, only two weeks,” recalls Charmaina.

Even though she is only 42 and wasn’t experiencing any symptoms, Charmaina knew that the odds were not in her favor. She lived in fear, certain she was fated to face the same battle.

Because of her family history, she decided to be proactive about her health, asking her primary care provider, Aspen Ingle, FNP-C, for a referral. It was through that referral that she met gastroenterologist Vivian Ebrahim, MD.

Results you can't get at home

Gastroenterologists treat the esophagus, the stomach, the colon, and everything in between. Among the most common procedures they perform are screening colonoscopies and polyp removal.

With training from the Cleveland Clinic and Baylor University Medical Center, Dr. Ebrahim is an expert in diseases of the colon and passionate about reducing the number of colon cancer cases in our area. Partnering with Khaldun Khatib, MD, PHD, at Hunt Regional Medical Partners Gastroenterology, Dr. Ebrahim has made it part of her mission to educate the public about the 90% reduction in cancer risk that follows a colonoscopy.

“It was very easy, I only wish I would have done it sooner.”

“It’s extremely prevalent, especially in our area and it is one of the preventable cancers. The problem is it comes on really slowly, so people don't realize it until they have it. Because once it comes, it's not good,” says Dr. Ebrahim, explaining that the quick 20-30 minute procedure is all it takes to prevent this type of cancer.

The recent popularity of at-home testing kits may have patients wondering if a colonoscopy is necessary. The concern, says Dr. Ebrahim, is that the tests are good at detecting but not at preventing—a critical and potentially deadly drawback when early detection is important.

“When you have advanced polyps that are the precancerous type, or colon cancer that can shed DNA, the at-home test detects that in the stool. It can check for larger polyps, but not necessarily all the types of polyps we see,” says Dr. Ebrahim.

“Instead of waiting to detect a cancer or waiting to detect a polyp, a colonoscopy can keep you from worrying about it for several years,” she said.

When Charmaina met Dr. Ebrahim, she says she immediately felt at ease.

“I met Dr. Ebrahim in February 2019. I thought she was amazing. She was so friendly and made me feel so comfortable,” said Charmaina.

“I had heard good things, and I liked that she is local,” she said.

Despite her age, Dr. Ebrahim agreed that due to her high-risk background Charmaina should have a screening colonoscopy.

A pleasant surprise

Just the word colonoscopy brings a shudder to many people. Often, the fear comes from a misconception about the preparation required for the procedure.

“In years past, the prep used to be four liters of a very salty, not palatable solution,” said Dr. Ebrahim. polyps were found and removed, reassuring Charmaina that she had made the right choice.

“It was very easy, I only wish I would have done it sooner,” she said.

Putting a plan in place

Charmaina knows there are a lot of people counting on her, including her husband, Kevin, their four kids, and the children at Brookland Learning Center, where she has worked for over 10 years and is affectionately known as Mrs. Maina.

Those same people are the reason she has chosen to no longer live in fear.

“My family has been awesome and so supportive. They want me to be around a lot longer,” she said.

“For the first time, I feel like colon cancer will not get me...”

“We have changed the prep and have come so far in the past few years. Now it is just two small bottles and it doesn't cause cramping,” she said.

In March, Charmaina arrived at Hunt Regional Medical Center for her colonoscopy. Much to her surprise, the entire experience was a fast, easy process she wasn’t expecting.

“It was very pleasant. The staff was amazing; I felt like they knew how nervous I was,” said Charmaina, adding that she was in and out and ready to go home before she even knew the procedure had started.

“It was so fast I couldn't even tell I had anything done when I woke up,” she said.

During the colonoscopy, a handful of precancerous Together with Dr. Ebrahim, Charmaina now has a plan in place to follow-up regularly to monitor her colon health—a plan to make sure she never battles colon cancer the way her parents did.

Charmaina says she is thankful to have a doctor on her team to make sure this never happens to her. All she has to do is follow the doctor’s orders.

“For the first time, I feel like colon cancer will not get me and I will see 60!” said Charmaina.

LEARN MORE ONLINE: www.huntregional.org/gastroenterology

CALL: 903.408.7980