Story Photos
 Photo by Greg Ebersole vPolyp Man (Dr. Anthony Simons) surprises three radiology technicians in a hallway at St. John Medical Center on Thursday afternoon. He wears the costume to encourage people to explore their colorectal health. |
Polyp Man serious about health
Friday, March 19, 2004 7:26 AM PST
By Brenda Blevins McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleIf you see a man prancing around in a red suit at St. John Medical Center, don't bother asking him for a Christmas present.
He's not handing out holiday cheer. Instead, Dr. Anthony "Tony" Simons --- aka Polyp Man --- is spreading the word on the importance of good colorectal health.
Simons dons a bulbous and fuzzy red suit, tights, nerdish glasses and red Converse hightops during the annual Colorectal Cancer Forum. This year's event was held Thursday at the hospital's Park Lake Cafe, timed in March, which is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Looking like a large, red garlic clove, Simons sparked laughter as he visited with hospital staff, patients and visitors.
"People will talk to you more when you approach them this way," said Simons, who's been with Longview Surgical Group for seven years.
The American Cancer Society and the Ad Council created Polyp Man a couple of years ago, said Simons, who specializes in the colorectal surgery area.
"It was amazingly funny and fantastic, a different way of looking at colon cancer," Simons said. "Prior to that, they tried to insist that people get screened, but they sort of changed their approach, lightened up."
He shared the Polyp Man information with his office staff so enthusiastically, that they hired a seamstress to create a costume for him.
"It was a bet of sorts, I guess," he said. "I told him that I would only dress up like him if I had an official-looking costume."
Polyp Man has popped in and out of the colon forums for the last three years. People connect with the funny costume, said Amy Boultinghouse, who works with Simons at Longview Surgical.
"A lot of people seem to have forgotten that they have a colon," she said. "But Polyp Man has helped to demystify it."
"Colon cancer is probably the most preventable cancer we have," Simons said, adding that it can start as a polyp and takes five to 10 years to grow into a cancer. "You have this time period to remove it ... no other cancer does that."
Patients and hospital staff wandered from table to table at the forum Thursday, picking through pamphlets, examining a colonoscopy machine on display and watching videos on procedures.
One of them, Serena Davis of Longview, said she was gathering information for a pending sigmoidoscopy (examination of the rectum and lower colon).
"I'm getting everything I can so I can read up on it," she said. "I'm thrilled they're bringing it out in the open."
Polyp Man isn't the standard superhero. But Simons hopes folks who see him get his message.
"If they'd just get some screening done," he said. "The best screening tool is the one you'll get done. Something is better than nothing."
Colorectal cancer
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The Cancer Research Foundation of
America has come up with these tips for people to keep the cancer at bay.
Who's at higher risk?
• Older people, over age 50
• People who have a family history of colorectal cancer, polyps or inflammatory
bowel disease
• Someone with a personal or family history of ovarian, endometrial or breast
cancer
• African-Americans
Screening options
• Fecal occult blood test (stool sample)
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy (visual examination by physician of the rectum and
lower colon)
• Colonoscopy (examination of entire colon)
• Double-contrast barium enema (X-ray combined with injection of barium sulfate
and air into the rectum)
Symptoms
• Rectal bleeding
• Blood in and around the stool
• Change in the shape of stool
• Stomach discomfort (bloating, fullness, cramps)
• Unexplained weight loss or fatigue
Prevention tips
• Regular screening
• Exercise
• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Low-fat diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains
• Avoiding alcohol and tobacco
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