Honoring the life and legacy of Liz Bonis

Ajouté : 2026-05-17

[00:00:15]Welcome. I'm Megan Mongello. This is a very special edition of What's Happening in Health. If you're a regular viewer, you know the show was always hosted by our own Liz Bonis. She has been a medical reporter with us for more than 20 years. We were as shocked as you were to learn of her death from colon cancer.

[00:00:35]She kept her illness private during her more than three-year fight. She urged others to live healthier lives. Liz was a fearless advocate for cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and those in need. Liz was incredibly proud to present this show on a weekly basis since 2018. She was passionate about sharing ways to get and stay healthy and avoid chronic diseases. She loved speaking with doctors about new treatments and surgical advances. Liz was deeply respected across the tri-state's medical community as a trusted voice for these causes.

[00:01:12]Liz has featured countless stories about people who have had cancer. Those stories have often focused on survivors and different treatment options. Artist Brett Billingsley, known as Mr. B, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2024. Liz has followed his journey since then, and he's been a frequent guest on this show, often using his artwork to uplift others. Billingsley said he was shocked to learn that all during this time, Liz was also suffering.

[00:01:45]>> I mean, it's different when somebody who loves you for no other reason than you're fighting.

[00:01:57]Then you grow a relationship and being unaware that that person was struggling with the same thing you were, but was strong enough not to want you to say anything about them. All she didn't want to do was be here for me, which speaks volume of her integrity >> and her tenacity as a person of faith and of value to me.

[00:02:28]>> And after the death of Local 12 health photojournalist James Harrison in February, Mr. B came to Local 12 and invited everyone who knew James, including Liz, you can see her in the video, participate in a painting. It was a tribute to James and he has made that same offer to paint a tribute piece for Liz as well. So many organizations around the tri-state who have worked with Liz over the years have expressed their condolences online. This is a Facebook post from Mount St. Joseph University. It calls Liz quote a beloved health anchor at Local 12 and a dedicated partner to the Mount. It goes on to say, "While we mourn her loss, we remember her love for the mount and the light she shared while championing our community's healthc care impact."

[00:03:15]Donating blood was a special cause important to Liz. Every week on this show, we would feature different donors who rolled up their sleeves to help others. Hawksworth Blood Center says Liz understood the importance of having a reliable donor base to get blood products into local hospitals.

[00:03:34]Liz was just such a great force of positivity and an advocate for for us and for for blood donation. So, she's always had that health interest, you know, coming with with her background and took a lot of pride in being the major personality here in the Cincinnati area to advocate for health and wellness.

[00:03:59]>> Liz won an award for her advocacy work for blood donors last year. She was honored as media partner of the year for America's donor recruitment professionals.

[00:04:10]And in many cases, we spend as much time with our co-workers as we do with our own family. And that is why this loss has hit us so hard here at Local 12. We lost one of the family.

[00:04:24]>> She was a rock star. I mean, like people were just coming up to her constantly asking me if I if we can take pictures if if they can take a picture with her.

[00:04:32]And and I'm just like, man, this is how do you deal with this? And she said, Ryan, these are my people. And and I think that's really how she looked at it. Like she these the viewers were her people and the people that she did stories on were her people. Liz was so welcoming. When I first got here, it wasn't but a couple of days that she asked me to come and go for a walk with her. And then when my family arrived a while later, uh she was with them at an FC Cincinnati game and she became good friends with my wife and then they would spend long walks together. She was so welcoming to both me and my family. I'm going to miss her.

[00:05:18]The way that I'm going to remember her was how professional she was and how kind she was. She was extremely polite, extremely kind to our production team.

[00:05:28]So, this is how I'm going to remember her.

[00:05:32]>> You know, we saw Liz working so much and I know that the family also felt that. I don't know that there's any way that they couldn't. Um, what is giving us peace and I'm sure it's giving them peace as well. And I hope it is is her faith. And I just hope that she's at peace and she's finally resting. And I hope that you all um are able to to feel that peace as well.

[00:05:53]>> Well, she was an angel when she was with us, but she's truly an angel now. um she helped uh helped so many uh other people uh with their um how they could improve their lives. Um I know that that's uh that's one way I describe an angel.

[00:06:12]She was a bright light for us here at Local 12 and [music] for our entire community.

[00:06:23]and that she was before coming to Cincinnati in 2002. Liz worked at WHAM TV in Rochester, New York. In her early career, she also hosted a radio show about nutrition called Lighten Up with Liz. Her former colleagues in New York remember how dedicated she was to broadcasting and teaching others about nutrition and wellness. The Rochester station is owned by our parent company, Sinclair, and they also aired Liz's health stories for decades.

[00:06:53]Liz's family released a statement thanking the Local 12 family during this very difficult time. Her husband wanted to share a very important message. It reads, quote, "She also told me to make sure everyone I talk to gets a colonoscopy, a papsmear, a prostate or breast exam, and a PSA test. Cancer is detectable. Let that be her best and final action."

[00:07:17]She was very determined not to have anybody uh know that she was sick because she didn't want to be the story.

[00:07:24]She was very afraid that if people saw that she was sick, they wouldn't be open with her. And so her determination of just getting good stories was really critical to her. The other thing was that she didn't want to burden all of her friends uh in the studio here, her family, uh the people with whom she was reporting, the doctors, the physicians.

[00:07:42]She didn't want any of them to know because she thought that that might diminish their spirits. And Liz was never about, you know, dragging anybody else down. She was always about uplifting others.

[00:08:31]We are continuing to remember our colleague, friend, and longtime health reporter Liz Bonis. We want to share some of the things that she was passionate about. As a registered dietician by trade, Liz loved to teach people about healthy eating. She would often do stories like this one in a grocery store, telling people about the benefits of eating colorful food and a variety of fruits and vegetables. We wanted to share some of Liz's previous health stories on these important topics, like adding more variety into your diet and how it could be key for long-term good health.

[00:09:06]Hey everybody. If you're trying to improve your diet to shape up for spring, eating by color, a great way to do that, which might lead you to eating the Mediterranean way.

[00:09:15]>> Definitely.

[00:09:16]>> It's all because along with all the fresh baked favorites served on the side, not butter, but colorful cucumbers and tomato, grape leaves, and hummus, which already ups your food colors. all about the flavor, seasoning, and fresh and dry herbs.

[00:09:35]>> Fari Ozil is the owner of this Ohio Cafe Mediterranean. He said more than a decade ago, people weren't as interested in these colorful salads with fresh ingredients.

[00:09:46]>> Now, we are seeing so much people coming everywhere and they are looking fresh and healthy food. That's because several studies, including a recent Mayo Clinic report, show eating a rainbow of colors at every meal, >> always we got to use them the fresh ingredients, >> is now linked not only to better weight and blood pressure due to higher fiber intake, but also better vision, less inflammation, lower risk for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, and a stronger immune system. Even the proteins in the Mediterranean diet, which are mainly chicken and fish. Um, so today we had chicken kebab and bronzino. Delicious.

[00:10:24]>> Are served with so much color that the meat is often just a compliment, but Kim Mumper says color aside, >> we love the food. It's delicious. Fresh vegetables, um, fresh fruit with a lot of the desserts.

[00:10:37]>> Now, just so you know, desserts are not taboo on this diet. Many of those, however, also made with fresh, colorful ingredients. With your health news, I'm Liz Bonis reporting.

[00:10:48]Another key aspect of healthy lifestyles is exercise. It was very important to Liz. She herself was famous for starting her days on the treadmill at 4 a.m.

[00:10:58]while texting and setting up stories for the day and the week ahead. Exercise classes like this one at My Fitness Suites in Cool Rain were often featured by Liz. And she also wanted to keep up with current trends like classes that offered a mix of cardio and strength training designed for people with busy schedules. She was very curious about other trends like the cold plunge. She would match the latest research or new study by giving real examples of health benefits.

[00:11:30]And still ahead, giving the gift of life will impact the important impact that Liz had on encouraging others to be organ donors.

[00:11:51]As we continue to honor our colleague and friend Liz Bonis, she was a champion of many causes in the medical community, but specifically organ donation. Liz frequently highlighted stories about people who needed an organ donor to save their life, including this one recently about a line dancing instructor who needs a kidney. She used her platform to help people and to dispel any myths and misconceptions about the organ donation process.

[00:12:19]And this was on full display in 2017 when Local 12's Howard A needed a kidney. Liz was determined to find him a match. And it turned out she didn't have to look very far. Local 12 producer Anita Ferrell got tested and she was a match. So she was a living kidney donor for Howard.

[00:12:38]The local chapter of the National Kidney Foundation honored Liz in March for her efforts to raise awareness about this important health issue.

[00:12:48]>> She was probably one of the most genuine and compassionate people, just overall warm and um when you bask in that light, I think that you can't help but want to be a better person.

[00:13:06]Paul says Liz never hesitated when she offered a story about someone who had health struggles because she wanted to bring them hope.

[00:13:14]And Liz's work connected people in need and it had a profound impact on so many including Sher Patterson and her husband Lee. They recently joined us here in the studio to remember Liz. Several years ago, Sherry needed a liver transplant.

[00:13:28]Liz saw her story and reached out to see if she could help. Larry credits Liz and her photographer, the late James Harrison, for saving her life.

[00:13:37]I had made a Facebook page that said Sherry needs a liver. And um she reached out to me [snorts] and put me on a new segment and her and James um came out to our home and uh they sat for a while with us. I was going into hospice care at home.

[00:13:58]And after the segment aired, Liz connected Sherry with a surgeon at UC.

[00:14:03]And Sherry had a successful liver transplant just three days later.

[00:14:08]Incredible. Sherry and her husband Lee said Liz and James had a profound impact on their lives and they included them in a book, a tribute book called MJ and the Magic Gift.

[00:14:22]Still ahead, how advances in medical technology have given this woman the ability to walk again. will share her inspiring story up next.

[00:14:42]We continue to remember our friend and colleague Liz Bonis. We want to share more stories from Liz's co-workers and how she cared so deeply about helping others.

[00:14:54]>> She worked hard. She turned three stories a day. She did her health show that [music] was two hours. She never scrimped on anything. She was all in all the time. And it was appreciated by those of us who aired her stories.

[00:15:12]I marveled at at her energy and her dedication. Um to see her work as hard as she did all day long. Uh shift that would have wiped most people out. uh she would run home, change, and go host a go- host a gala for three hours. Um it's just the person she was. Uh she was very much about the work, but that's because she was about the people at the end of the day and the people that she knew she was helping.

[00:15:40]>> I always would laugh whenever I run into Liz in the hallway. I'd go, "Hi, Liz."

[00:15:43]And she would yell, "Hey, babe."

[00:15:46]People trusted her with their stories.

[00:15:50][music] Um, and she uh took that trust very seriously. She was um her attention to detail and being accurate about the information that was shared on all of her stories was um of always top of mind for her. Um she just excelled at her craft. She loved her beat. Um it was her purpose. Um it truly was and she um she helped so many people along the way.

[00:16:22]>> Troubleshooter Howard Aim, he had a kidney condition and was in kidney failure and she called it help for Howard. She [music] she wanted to find him a um a donor. Turned out I was a match. And in August of 2017, I was a living kidney donor for Howard. About a month ago, last month in March, the local kidney foundation named Liz their champion for the year because she does so much to raise awareness and it was just wonderful to be there with her and I'm I'm glad now I have that memory.

[00:16:57]>> I think it's it's pretty easy to say that there are people who are alive today who are alive because of a story that Liz did.

[00:17:10]There are young people who are having more time with mom and dad, uh, grandma and grandpa because of a story Liz did.

[00:17:21]And of all the things that could be her legacy, I think that is the most significant.

[00:17:32]As the only dedicated medical reporter for Cincinnati television, Liz loved her beat and was highly respected by the medical community. She was always eager to share new research and how advances in technology could help patients have better outcomes. Liz was also fond of highlighting stories of survival.

[00:17:51]Medical technology played a major role in giving this next woman you're about to meet a chance to walk again after she was seriously injured in a crash.

[00:18:01]Hey there everybody. This was Caitlyn Reynolds in the hospital with multiple injuries. Today she is on her way to being a walking miracle after a long journey which started when a young man now serving prison time got behind the wheel under the influence of drugs and alcohol. This is the video from that lifechanging night in 2020.

[00:18:22]>> It ultimately left me with a spinal cord injury of a T8. So from my belly button down I have no feeling. But as Caitlyn's mom, Candace Ballser, describes it, that didn't stop Caitlyn's spirit, fighting to survive.

[00:18:37]>> I'd say the first two years were the hardest. Those are the years you want to give up, [snorts] but then you just decide that you dig deep and you want to live again.

[00:18:48]>> And so the journey that got Caitlyn here to Ohio's Trialth physical therapist, Beth Hana, began.

[00:18:55]>> I'm super impressed. It's so much fun to work with her. Beth introduced Caitlyn to the ReWalk 7.

[00:19:02]>> The Rewalk is a computerized exoskeleton.

[00:19:06]>> The Exoskeleton is equipped with what are called smart crutches. They allow her legs to move in a smarter, smoother, more powerful way than ever before.

[00:19:16]>> So the the patient walking in it can control the device to tell it to sit, stand, walk from the crutches. And while it's taken months, >> it is running off of motors and sensors, so it can sense if you're tilting to stand or if you're tilting to sit. Watch this. Caitlyn is the first in the region to have this model, the Rewok 7 from Lifeword. And its bionic legs custom fit to her body.

[00:19:46]>> It can sense as you're moving to know and it knows what to do. The sensors allow for what's called realworld walking. And right away, Caitlyn noticed staying upright is lifechanging.

[00:19:58]>> My mom comes into therapy and walks with me. You know, see each other eye to eye, can hug. It's a really nice thing.

[00:20:05]>> As her pacing improves with these wearable powered legs, so does that fighting spirit.

[00:20:12]>> I had people that inspired me. Now I've been in it for a minute now. I can try to maybe help inspire others as well that might be just now in this journey.

[00:20:22]>> Her goal now, not a wheelchair, but soon a walk on the beach.

[00:20:27]>> It's amazing. [laughter] There was a time she didn't want to get out of bed.

[00:20:31]So, the fact that she wants to come get up, work hard, and [snorts] do it is amazing.

[00:20:38]Now, we do hope to be there when Caitlyn takes that first walk on the beach. This technology now covered by most medical insurance plans, but you will likely need prior authorization. With your health news, I'm Liz Bonis reporting.

[00:20:53]Coming up in our next half hour, precision medicine, what it is, and how it plays a role in preventing cancer, including the type that claimed Liz's life, colon cancer. I will speak to a panel of experts from Tri Health who are here with advice on staying well.

[00:21:26]Precision Medicine sponsored by Tri Health.

[00:21:32]I'm Megan Montello. Welcome to a special health program called Precision Medicine. This show should have been hosted by our longtime health reporter Liz Bonis. Sadly, Liz died of a disease she talked about, colon cancer. It was shocking to many of us. She was very private about her battle. But I know this. She would have wanted this show to go on to spread the message of prevention and testing. So, today we're highlighting how testing can help determine your risk for a number of diseases. We're also talking about colon cancer and how to prevent it. According to her family, Liz fought cancer for almost four years and had multiple surgeries. She also participated in six clinical trials for experimental oncology drugs. Her family is now encouraging everyone to make sure you are up to date on all preventative health screenings. We have multiple providers from Tri Health joining us today, including the medical director for Tri Health Colon and Rectal Program, Dr. Hamza Gand, and also welcoming Sarah Bagio. She's an advanced practice GI nurse at Tri Health. But first, we want to start by welcoming our first guest, genet genetic counselor, El Bendic. El, thanks so much.

[00:22:52]>> Yeah, thank you for having me.

[00:22:53]>> All right, precision medicine. If someone hears that, what exactly does that mean?

[00:22:57]>> So, it's really an exciting direction that medicine is taking with advances in technology and genetic testing. were able to measure and incorporate so many more data points into better understanding someone's health. So, you're really seeing a more informed care plan, more personalized care plan.

[00:23:13]>> And how does this change diagnosis and then treatment for a patient?

[00:23:18]>> Yeah, I think with, you know, that um overwhelming uh amount of information that we now have, um providers can be very confident in the decisions they're making. Um you know, you can have a very um good plan that's well informed. Um, we're also seeing that a lot of drugs now understand the biology of these diseases and are making targeted therapies that are going to be able to better respond um, as without as many side effects. If someone sitting at home is thinking, am I a candidate for this?

[00:23:47]How do you guys determine who should get genetic testing?

[00:23:52]>> So, um, you know, I think a lot of that comes down to looking at features of maybe their condition or the family history. And so we know that um traditional genetic testing is looking for some more rare mutations that might impact someone's health significantly.

[00:24:06]So in terms of you know sometimes people wonder does cancer run in my family? Is it genetic? We might talk with them about do what cancers have been diagnosed in their family? Do they have any particularly young cancers like under age 50? Um if there's clusters of relatives who seem to have the same type of cancer or cancers that can run together. and sometimes we look at features of the tumor. So, it's more rare that uh cancer is genetic. Only maybe 5 to 10% of the time that could be the case, but it's really important to be able to identify those individuals because it can be one of the more significant risk factors for someone to develop the disease. Um, and it really could be something that you could benefit from getting personalized screenings. you know, everybody should get colonoscopies and and um you know, mammograms, but maybe in individuals with a higher risk for those cancers, it needs to start earlier in life or be supplemented.

[00:24:55]>> And how do you handle privacy with a patient and also the emotional aspect of it? Um you know, they come in and they might have um you know, a gene that could signify breast cancer and that something to hear is very emotional for a patient.

[00:25:11]>> Yeah. Yeah. So, it's definitely a a very emotional um discussion. You know, sometimes people come to our offices and they've been thinking about it for a long time and, you know, they're finally ready. Um, or it's kind of the beginning of their journey. So, we always have a consultation upfront where we talk with them about, you know, what are your goals? How do you want to use this information? How might you feel if it's positive? How might you feel if it's negative? It's not always that straightforward. Um, you know, sometimes people test negative and you might think there's a sense of relief about that, but, you know, sometimes it could be frustrating to not have an answer. Um and then you know another component that we really talk about is how does it impact your family? Family dynamics are very complicated and so sometimes you want to consider you know will you talk with your family about this? How might you talk with your family about this?

[00:25:55]And it can be different if people are close with relatives, not so close with relatives, you know, if someone's older or younger in the family, too.

[00:26:03]>> And you guys have something at Tri Health called the DNA Discovery Program.

[00:26:07]What is it and how could someone participate? Yeah. So, it's a uh community research program and we're looking to better help people better understand how their DNA can help um them improve their health. So, um people can participate if um they enroll. It's very easy to find the website on try health if they just look for DNA discovery. You can enroll enroll on your phone and on your computer as long as you're 18 or older. And then um you go to one of the offices for a blood draw.

[00:26:35]um it is looking at your um DNA in much broader terms than typically done and um trying to make connections with you know certain health conditions and certain genetic variants so we can maybe move forward um giving people better information that they can take advantage of and learn better ways to you know maybe manage their health or new test that we could develop.

[00:26:56]>> All righty Lee, thank you so much. Very important information.

[00:26:59]>> Thank you. Still to come, we're going to share why a colonoscopy is the best way to detect colon cancer. Joining us to discuss more on prevention and treatment is Dr. Hamus Gen, a colarctyl surgeon with Tri Health. [music] Stay here.

[00:27:16]>> Screening is extremely important to uh prevent colon cancer. In recent years, colon cancer is on the rise, particularly in ever younger populations.

[00:27:29]That's why the initial screening age of 50 years was actually lowered to 45 years. And we actually do see people at that age that come with early stages of colon cancer uh or pre uh precursors of colon cancer with polyps that we can remove and do something against the colon cancer before it's even um manifesting and causing actual problems.

[00:28:01]>> Welcome back. You're watching a special program called Precision Medicine. As you just heard, more younger people are being diagnosed with colon cancer. We want to share resources today on how to assess your risk and get screened if needed. Joining us live is Dr. Hamas Gen. He is the medical director of the Tri Health Colon and Rectal Program. Dr. Gen, thank you for joining us.

[00:28:24]>> Pleasure to be here.

[00:28:25]>> All right, let's first talk about who is most at risk for developing colon cancer. we heard were the agees now 45 to start getting screened.

[00:28:35]>> Yeah. So [clears throat] certainly the number one uh risk factor is age and it used to be older age but with the shift in the younger generation uh the screening age has been shifted to reflect that. Uh people who have family history are also very strong um risk of having colctal cancer. Um and that's the two categories we generally look at.

[00:28:56]>> And why are more young people being diagnosed? It's a very good question and there's a lot of work being done to try and and uh determine the reason for that. Certainly we think that some of it may be related to our dietary habits um in the type of foods we eat >> and at what age we talked about 45. Um so that is on the younger end. But when we talk about getting a colonoscopy if you start at the age of 45 how often should you come back? Uh so everybody should get a screening colonoscopy at age 45 as long as they're not having symptoms or a family history. Now um the frequency of colonoscopies after that will depend on what they find during that colonoscopy and they'll determine the frequency beyond that.

[00:29:39]>> A lot of people hesitate to get one of these tests because you know maybe they're embarrassed. Um the prep is is a lot for folks. would you kind of put someone's mind at ease about the procedure itself, what it is and what it entails?

[00:29:55]>> So, the procedure usually entails a preparation, which is usually liquid or potentially pills to clean out your colon >> to come in for the uh procedure. That's probably the worst part of it. But after that, most people get sedation. They don't actually remember the procedure.

[00:30:10]And by the time they the procedure is done, they're already awake in the recovery room with no issues at all. So, it's a very, very simple procedure. It's a short little period to really gain a lot.

[00:30:21]>> And I know that there's other tests out there besides the colonoscopy um the colard where you send in a sample to a lab to be tested. What is the difference between that and the accuracy of the actual colonoscopy?

[00:30:36]>> So the colard is meant to be a screening test only. So it cannot be used in people who either have symptoms or have other conditions that predispose to colorectal cancer. And it also requires more frequent screening. Um and if somebody has a colard test that turns out to be positive then they are required or we recommend they have a colonoscopy to follow up on that to look for the source of the positive test.

[00:31:00]>> And so obviously colonoscopy is the best test.

[00:31:03]>> Yes. Yes. It's called the gold standard which is basically what we consider to be the best standard to look for uh polyps generally speaking which is the precancerous lesions and treat those before they become cancer.

[00:31:16]>> You talked or mentioned a few times the symptoms. What are the symptoms that people should know about and watch out for in their own life?

[00:31:24]>> Yeah. So the commonest symptoms we generally talk about with colorectile cancer are bleeding, rectal bleeding or GI bleeding uh as well as changes in bowel habits. Those are common ones. Now there could be other symptoms in more advanced stages like abdominal pain, bloating and weight loss. Uh but generally we're looking for earlier stage screening and the bleeding and changing bowel. The most important two things.

[00:31:47]>> If someone does a colonoscopy and they have a polip, that doesn't necessarily mean they have cancer. Correct.

[00:31:54]>> Correct. Correct.

[00:31:55]>> So, describe kind of what a polip is um and if someone should be concerned if they have some.

[00:32:02]>> Yes. So, the polip is a precursor to colon cancer and generally it tends to grow slowly over time. So, the idea is to catch it before it becomes cancer and remove it to not allow it to progress.

[00:32:14]So, the colonoscopy not only looks for these spots, but it gets rid of them.

[00:32:19]And then beyond that, that helps us determine who's at risk of having colon cancer. So if you have multiple polyps, you need to get screened more frequently. If they're larger polyps, you need to be screened more frequently.

[00:32:29]Um so having a polip in itself is not an issue. It just helps us determine who really needs more aggressive screening.

[00:32:36]>> And when you talk about colon cancer, so someone might get a test or colonoscopy and they might have a polip that's cancerous removed. How is colon cancer treatable if you catch it early? So colon cancer is very treatable particularly at earlier stages and um at times it can be treated just with the colonoscopy uh and a lot of times people just need surgery and that's all they need and that's curative surgery no further treatment is required particularly in early stages >> more advanced stages um is there things you could do for someone at that point before it metastasizes >> uh absolutely um even in stages that are a little more advanced where it's localized but spread for example to the lymph nodes those patients receive curative treatment with surgery. They may need other additional therapies uh before it metastasizes.

[00:33:27]>> All right, Dr. Gen, thank you so much for talking about this very important topic for us.

[00:33:33]>> Still ahead, listening to your body here from a nurse who received surprising results after having a colonoscopy at a young age. Plus, prevention and detection of colon cancer is key. Sarah Bagio, an advanced [music] practice GI nurse with Trial, is our next guest.

[00:33:50]That's coming up.

[00:33:54]There have been a lot of recent headlines about an increase in young people who have developed colon cancer.

[00:33:59]Angela Naidk had a scare six years ago.

[00:34:02]She's a gastroendinology nurse with Tri Help. When she was just 31 years old, she had severe pain in her rectum and initially dismissed this symptom. A friend at work encouraged her to get it checked out and a few months later she had a colonoscopy. To her surprise, the doctor found and removed a large precancerous polip. Naidk is very thankful she had the test and says she hears of so many people who put it off.

[00:34:30]It's always important to get checked because if you wait, you know, people constantly are saying they can't get off work or they don't want to get off work or, you know, I'm going to put off till next year. Um, I constantly hear patients say that and I think it's really important that, you know, it's one day that you need to take off or not work to save your life.

[00:34:49]When Naidex's friend convinced her to get screened, she says she thought of her two daughters and couldn't imagine not being around for them. She encourages everyone to get screened right away once you reach the recommended age for it or sooner if you're having symptoms. And we want to bring in another voice on this important subject today. We are joined by Sarah Bajio, an advanced practice gastroentinology nurse at Tri Health. Sarah, thank you for joining us.

[00:35:15]>> Thank you.

[00:35:16]>> All right. So, colon cancer, first describe for folks how it's detected.

[00:35:20]>> So, colon cancer is detected the best way it's detected is by a colonoscopy, a screening colonoscopy. So, this is a procedure where we insert a long flexible tube about the size of my finger in diameter and it has a camera and a light on the end of it and we're looking in your large intestine. So, we're looking to to look at the lining of the colon and to identify those polyps that could be precancerous and and polyps are little tissue growths.

[00:35:48]>> And this is a test some people are embarrassed to get, but it's something that you guys see as a nurse every day.

[00:35:55]What would you say to folks that are embarrassed to get the test to try and encourage them? It could save their life.

[00:36:01]>> Absolutely. It it is a life-saving procedure and I would encourage you that if you have concerns or fears or if you have certain religious beliefs um that you talk to your primary care doctor or your gastronurologist and let them know about your concerns um so that they can try to put you at ease. But from a procedure side of things, I used to work in the endoscopy department before I went back to school. And uh when patients come in, we treat you with dignity and respect. You're covered up the entire time. We have uh different undergarments that you can wear to provide you more modesty um if that's a concern. And you are 100% asleep for the procedure. So there can be concerns of pain. Um, and I hope to to ease people's minds, put your minds at ease that, you know, you will be asleep for the procedure. We will not start until you're asleep. And, you know, most people wake up in the recovery room saying, "What? It's over? Did we even start?" You know, >> and the prep is is the worst part. You probably hear that time and time again from patients.

[00:37:06]>> Yes, absolutely. The prep is not fun.

[00:37:09]I'm not going to lie. Um, it is a significant amount of liquid that you are required to drink. Um, but it's the most important part of the colonoscopy.

[00:37:18]Uh, without drinking the prep, we're unable to completely visualize your colon when we're looking. And you know, the the whole purpose of the colonoscopy is to identify those possibly precancerous polyps. Um, so the prep cleans out your colon and allows us to see.

[00:37:35]>> And when you kind of talk about the different tests, obviously you have the colonoscopy and the colard 2. the difference between those two tests. What would you say to people about how those two tests are different?

[00:37:47]>> Yeah. So, the Colag Guard, you know, it's a it's a stool test that you can mail in and it's used for screening, but it's not meant for everybody. Um, for those people who are of average risk, it could be something that you could use.

[00:38:00]That would warrant a discussion with your primary health provider. But for people who are at higher risks, say those who have family history of colorectal cancer or if they have a genetic predisposition or if they've already had precancerous polyps, um then you really should undergo a colonoscopy.

[00:38:20]>> And when you talk about colon cancer, we hear time and time again it is treatable. Describe how you you treat it as as a nurse.

[00:38:29]>> Yeah, so um I would say that everybody is different. It depends on the stage that we detect the colon cancer. So if colon cancer is definitely preventable, but it's also treatable if caught early.

[00:38:42]So that's that's the biggest push for getting colonoscopies is to catch it early. And if we do identify colon cancer, then that becomes a multidisciplinary discussion between the patient, the gastronurologist, the colarctal surgeon, and the oncology team. And when someone talks about colon cancer and they think, "Oh man, I don't want to get that." Is there anything they can do in their everyday life to reduce the risk?

[00:39:08]>> Absolutely. So, you know, we can't change our genetic makeup and we can't change our family history, but we can change, you know, how we treat our bodies and what we put into our bodies.

[00:39:19]So, uh, focusing on a diet that's, uh, higher in fruits and vegetables, having more fiber, and trying to decrease consumption of, um, processed foods, uh, processed meats, diets that are high in red meat, and really focusing on fiber intake. And then exercise as well. Um, making sure that we're we're moving our bodies, exercising our bodies, taking care of our bodies. Um, and then I would highly recommend people to avoid tobacco use and alcohol consumption.

[00:39:50]>> And when a colonoscopy is performed on some someone, obviously you're doing it to detect cancer, but is there anything else that can be found, any other GI issues that can be found with the colonoscopy?

[00:40:02]>> Yeah, absolutely. So, there are a multitude of conditions that can be found. Um, for example, inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's. uh that can be detected on colonoscopies. Uh there are certain um uh processes that can cause diarrhea or other symptoms that people are having.

[00:40:22]So colonoscopy while it's uh important to get for colurectal cancer screening, it's definitely a tool that we use to investigate other symptoms that people may be having such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, things like that.

[00:40:36]>> And what is an endoscopy? An endoscopy is when we go through your mouth and we look in the esophagus, the stomach, and our first part of our small intestine.

[00:40:46]>> All right?

[00:40:47]>> And colonoscopy just looks in our colon or our large intestine. It comes from the bottom end.

[00:40:52]>> All right, Sarah, thank you so much. And keep it right here because we're going to share some important final thoughts with our panel of experts from Tri Health. That's coming up next.

[00:41:04]The precision uh medicine just like any oncology care is continued to evolve and get better and hopefully better outcome for our patients and better treatment.

[00:41:15]>> Welcome back to precision medicine. We want to get some final thoughts from our panel of experts from Tri Health today.

[00:41:20]Genetic counselor Elie Bendic, Dr. Gend, medical director of Tri Health Colon and Rectal Program, and Sarah Bajio advanced practice GI nurse. Thank you all for being with us today and sharing your thoughts. We're focusing this program on colon cancer for a reason. Our very own Liz Bonis died of colon cancer. So when you think about it can't happen to me, obviously it has happened to someone who is near and dear to our hearts. What would you want folks to know, Elise, about first of all getting tested to know your risk upfront?

[00:41:56]Yeah, you know, I always think back to a patient's story that we did and her family had Lynch syndrome, which can be the most common cause for hereditary uh colurectal cancer. Um, and she said for her it wasn't an easy thing to do, but it was the smart thing to do that to get tested. And so I think it's important to educate yourself, learn what your options are, and consider if it's the right test for you. Um, and really work with your care team to figure out um, you know, how you can get access to that.

[00:42:21]>> And Dr. Again, when you see patients, they come in probably with various stages of colon cancer or maybe someone doesn't have it and they just came in for the colonoscopy and you found a few polyps. What would you say and what is your message to folks about at 45 start to get that screening?

[00:42:40]>> Yeah, make sure you get your screening even if you do not have your symptoms.

[00:42:44]That's probably the best time to have the colonoscopies to catch these things before they become a problem. But even with a diagnosis of colon cancer, we have some very very good treatments. Uh the majority of it is curable treatments and hopefully this is just a little blip in your life and then you move on from it.

[00:43:01]>> And when you talk about treatments um and advances, what are some of those advances in technology that five 10 years from now you might be able to do?

[00:43:11]>> Yeah. So there's a lot of things. One, the type of surgery we do, how we approach it has gotten a lot easier. uh it allows the patients to recover faster. We have a lot of treatments even uh for patients with metastatic disease or even if the tumor is spread. We have uh directed therapies to the liver for example to either remove sections of it or treat uh parts of it directly. Um we have newer treatments for appropriate patients like amunotherapy which is also opening another huge opportunity for cure for patients who previously we thought were incurable. So I think uh you know uh things are looking very bright in the future and I think we'll continue to make advances uh in the management of colon cancer.

[00:43:53]>> And Dr. Gen, what if someone I guess is it possible for someone to have colon cancer and not have any symptoms?

[00:44:00]>> Yes, you you can actually and that's why it's important to do the screening uh before you develop symptoms. Um colon cancer doesn't generally cause symptoms till it becomes a little more advanced.

[00:44:11]And so the idea with a colonoscopy is to catch this thing before it becomes problematic. And the earlier stage colon cancers are typically asymptomatic and generally those are the tumors that have the highest rates of cure.

[00:44:24]>> Important message. So not always will you show symptoms. Um Sarah, talk about the encouragement you want to give folks to get the colonoscopy even if they're embarrassed. This is something that you see every day. patients come in um and they're a little nervous about the procedure. What would you say to ease their mind?

[00:44:44]>> I would say that uh colonoscopies are a life-saving procedure and if you have fears or concerns that you reach out to members of your health care team and and really explain, you know, what's keeping you from doing it. Um like she said, we do these all day every day. Um you are comfortable. your we protect your modesty and your dignity during the procedure and they're painf free. So I would encourage you to reach out to your health care team um to discuss if a colonoscopy is right for you because it could save your life.

[00:45:19]>> And Liz's husband came and addressed us all here at Local 12. and he said, "Liz's best and final message should be for everyone to get screened, to make sure you know your health, to take time to do it because he wishes he would have encouraged her more." So, I thank you all for joining us on this special program. If you have any specific medical questions, the best place to start is by calling your primary care physician. If you don't have one, you can call Tri Health Primary Care at 51385321000 for more information. And we have posted resources related to this program on our website. Go to what's happening in health.com.

[00:46:02]Thanks for watching. I'm Megan Mongello.

[00:46:04]That wraps up our precision health and medicine program. This show is dedicated in honor and to the memory of Liz Bonis.