8 yanktonmedicalclinic.com Yankton teacher and track coach Chris Hovden was 48 years old when he went to see his primary care provider, Jordan Schild, MD, at Yankton Medical Clinic for a routine physical. Dr. Schild told Hovden he was about three years behind on getting his first colonoscopy and that he shouldn’t put it off any longer. Fortunately, Hovden listened. “To be quite honest with you, this isn’t exactly what I do,” he says about discussing his medical situation. “Very few people actually know that I had cancer. Several more will know now. As I was asked to do this, my thought is, ‘There’s a reason, and I need to get my story out there.’” Hovden’s story isn’t unique, but it’s important to acknowledge the importance of screening colonoscopies once people turn 45. Hovden scheduled a colonoscopy with YMC surgeon Ryan Garry, MD, in March 2024. It’s a good thing he didn’t wait another year. “They found some polyps, two of which were removed at the time ‘I need to get my story out YHS coach advocates for the importance of not putting off getting a colonoscopy of the colonoscopy,” Hovden says. “Two were larger and in kind of a bad spot, so they could not be removed during the procedure. They removed what they could, sent that into pathology and it came back clean.” ‘I’m very lucky’ In May, Hovden returned for surgery to remove the polyps they couldn’t remove during his colonoscopy. This time, the results weren’t great, but they could have been much worse. He explains: “They took lymph glands and a section of my colon and sent it in for pathology. That report came back stating that I did have colon cancer, but it was very early stage. I’m very lucky to get it when I did.” Hovden says he was completely symptomless and had no idea anything was going on in his intestines. That’s common with colon cancer. According to the experts, if people start having symptoms from colon cancer, it’s probably fairly well advanced, as it is symptomless in its early stages. And that’s why colonoscopies are a vital tool in the fight against cancer. Detection and prevention YMC surgeons Jesse Kampshoff, MD, Luke Serck, MD, and Dr. Garry sat down with the Press & Dakotan to discuss the importance of screening colonoscopies. They agree that stories such as Hovden’s can have much different results. “The guidelines say that 45 is the proper age to get a baseline colonoscopy for an average-risk patient, and then follow that up every 10 years for that same average-risk patient,” Dr. Garry says. “Things that can change that schedule are polyps. If you have polyps, it depends on the type of polyp, the size of polyp and the number of polyps that could make it less than 10 years before the next one. It could be three, could By Jay Gravholt (republished with permission from the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, Nov. 23, 2024*) Chris Hovden, a Yankton school teacher and track coach, chats with surgeon Ryan Garry, MD, in an exam room at Yankton Medical Clinic. Hovden recently had his first colonoscopy, and he’s glad he did. Photo by Jay Gravholt, Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
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