Mark Cuban Shares Personal Experience And Tells Twitter Followers To 'Get A Colonoscopy!'

Dallas Mavericks owner and “Shark Tank” stalwart Mark Cuban has unexpectedly taken on a new role as a public wellness advocate with a four-part message on his Twitter TWTR page, talking up the importance of having a colonoscopy.

What Happened: “I had mine yesterday,” Cuban tweeted on Thursday evening. “I was in the doctors at 745 and back at work by 9am. Don’t be afraid. Get the colonoscopy and maybe save your life from colon cancer and always talk to your doctor first!”

Cuban commiserated with his 8.5 million Twitter followers that the prospects of this particular procedure might not seem pleasant and offered advice for the anxious.

“To those afraid of getting your 1st colonoscopy, I recommend getting a CT Colonoscopy,” he stated. “You still prep the same, but the process took 30 mins. It felt weird, but didn’t hurt and cost $600. No meds at all. Talk to your Dr of course but this approach was EASY.”

Still, the billionaire entrepreneur admitted that not everyone shares his checkbook balance, admitted that “not all insurers cover this and $600 isn’t cheap,” but he urged people to find a way to “make it work.”

“Colon cancer is a preventable disease,” he insisted. “It just takes getting a colonoscopy early enough.”

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What Else? Separate from Cuban, the connection between colorectal cancer and extended family relations was the subject of a study by researchers from the University of Buffalo and the University of Utah.

The study, which was published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, found that first-degree relatives of someone diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer were six times more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer before age 50. In comparison, second-degree relatives were three times likelier and third-degree relatives 1.56 times likelier.

The study defined first-degree relatives as including parents, children and siblings, while second-degree relatives included aunts, uncles, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews; third-degree relatives were defined as first cousins, great-grandparents and great-grandchildren.

“Our study provides new insight into the magnitude of risk for more distant relatives of colorectal cancer cases, and in particular, for relatives of cases who were diagnosed before age 50,” said Heather Ochs-Balcom, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the University of Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions. “This work is important given the rising rates of early-onset colorectal cancer.”

Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons.