Penn Gets A Colonoscopy (with Special Guest Brooks Bell)

Summary

Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness Episode Summary: "Penn Gets A Colonoscopy (with Special Guest Brooks Bell)" Release Date: March 11, 2025

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Introduction to the Episode

In this heartfelt and informative episode of Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness, hosts Kim and Penn Holderness embark on a personal journey as Penn prepares to undergo his first colonoscopy. The episode delves into the importance of colorectal cancer awareness, sharing personal anecdotes, expert insights, and practical advice to encourage listeners to take proactive steps in managing their health.

Penn’s Decision to Get a Colonoscopy

Penn Holderness opens up about his decision to undergo a colonoscopy, despite lacking a family history of colorectal cancer or exhibiting symptoms. He expresses his apprehensions and fears surrounding the procedure, highlighting the common anxieties many individuals face when considering such invasive screenings.

Penn Holderness (04:56): "This is scary for me. I don't know what if this is the last normal day that I have in my life."

Understanding Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

Kim Holderness provides context about the significance of March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. She shares alarming statistics to underscore the importance of early detection and regular screenings.

Kim Holderness (04:54): "Colorectal cancer is predicted to be the leading cause of cancer death for people under 30... One in 24 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime."

Introduction of Special Guest: Brooks Bell

The episode features Brooks Bell, a passionate colon cancer advocate and co-founder of World Class Clothing. Brooks shares her personal battle with stage three colon cancer and her mission to raise awareness and improve access to colonoscopy screenings.

Brooks Bell (10:58): "I am now devoting my time to colon cancer prevention and health equity. My commitment to bringing awareness to prevention of colon cancer and the importance of timely colonoscopy is saving lives."

Brooks Bell’s Journey and Advocacy

Brooks recounts her diagnosis at age 38, the challenges she faced in securing a timely colonoscopy, and the lessons learned from her experience. She emphasizes the rising incidence of colorectal cancer among younger populations and explores potential environmental factors contributing to this trend.

Brooks Bell (14:31): "There's a whole host of various environmental factors... affecting our microbiome... which leads to inflammation and the growth of polyps."

The Importance of Early Detection and Regular Screenings

The conversation pivots to the critical role of colonoscopies in preventing colorectal cancer by identifying and removing polyps before they become malignant. Brooks provides actionable advice on advocating for oneself within the healthcare system to obtain necessary screenings, especially for those under the recommended age.

Brooks Bell (36:28): "If you have blood in your stool, you should get a colonoscopy. You are qualified for it and it should be covered as a diagnostic colonoscopy."

Preparing for a Colonoscopy: Tips and Tricks

Kim and Brooks share practical tips to ease the colonoscopy preparation process. From dietary changes to mental strategies, they offer a comprehensive guide to making the experience as smooth as possible.

Brooks Bell (36:55): "Think about it strategically... Have a little bit of fun with it... It's more like a cleanse rather than a prep."

Overcoming Anxiety and Embracing Humor

Penn candidly discusses his anxieties about the procedure, including fears of the unknown and the invasive nature of colonoscopies. Brooks responds with empathy and humor, reinforcing the importance of viewing the process positively.

Brooks Bell (19:08): "They see your entire colon, and they see, like, 10 of these colons a day... realizing you're not special on that table."

Post-Procedure Reflections and Outcomes

Penn shares his post-colonoscopy experience, revealing that six polyps were found and removed, significantly reducing his risk of developing colon cancer. He reflects on the surprisingly smooth nature of the procedure and the minimal disruption to his daily life.

Penn Holderness (45:59): "Apparently, I don't remember most of it. And that is wonderful. But they found six polyps... I just feel so much better right now that I did it."

Brooks Bell’s Initiative: World Class Clothing

Brooks introduces World Class Clothing, a nonprofit brand dedicated to changing the culture around colonoscopies through fashion. By creating stylish and comfortable apparel, the initiative aims to make conversations about colon health more approachable and to fundraise for underinsured communities.

Brooks Bell (29:45): "World Class is the first colonoscopy apparel brand... we want to both increase awareness and actually directly increase access for people who really need it."

Closing Thoughts and Encouragement

Kim and Penn conclude the episode by celebrating Penn’s successful colonoscopy and encouraging listeners to prioritize their health. They reiterate the importance of early detection and regular screenings, leveraging Penn’s experience as a testament to the procedure’s life-saving potential.

Kim Holderness (52:12): "If you are listening to this, this is your sign to make your appointment."

Key Takeaways

• Early Detection Saves Lives: Regular colonoscopies are crucial in identifying and removing polyps, preventing the progression to colorectal cancer.
• Advocacy is Essential: Individuals should advocate for their health, especially when experiencing symptoms, regardless of age or family history.
• Humor as a Coping Mechanism: Using humor can alleviate the stress and anxiety associated with medical procedures.
• Community Support: Initiatives like World Class Clothing play a vital role in raising awareness and making health screenings more accessible.

Conclusion

This episode of Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness masterfully blends humor with serious health discussions, providing listeners with valuable insights and encouragement to take control of their health. Through personal stories and expert advice, Kim, Penn, and Brooks Bell create a compelling narrative that emphasizes the importance of colorectal cancer awareness and the life-saving benefits of regular colonoscopies.

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Notable Quotes:

• Penn Holderness (04:56): "This is scary for me. I don't know what if this is the last normal day that I have in my life."
• Brooks Bell (10:58): "My commitment to bringing awareness to prevention of colon cancer and the importance of timely colonoscopy is saving lives."
• Brooks Bell (36:28): "If you have blood in your stool, you should get a colonoscopy. You are qualified for it and it should be covered as a diagnostic colonoscopy."
• Kim Holderness (52:12): "If you are listening to this, this is your sign to make your appointment."

Transcript

[Kim Holderness]

Hey Penn, have you ever had this conversation? You meet someone, they say, hey, how you doing? And without thinking you just reply, I'm good. You?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, of course. Right.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I decided when I say I'm good, I want to meet it. That's why I'm using Headspace.

[Penn Holderness]

Great. So Headspace is the app that helps me and 100 million people with their mental health and well being with guided meditations, mindfulness practices, breathing and calming exercises, and so much more.

[Kim Holderness]

It reduces stress, boosts your mood, and helps you sleep better. By combining scientifically proven benefits of medit and mindfulness with modern practices, the app.

[Penn Holderness]

Has these customized personalized approaches to help you navigate through all of life's moments, whether they're big or small.

[Kim Holderness]

If you're a total newbie or have been meditating for years, there's always content for what you're going through.

[Penn Holderness]

And if you're short on time, Headspace has these quick on the go programs that help you get in the right headspace in just a few minutes.

[Kim Holderness]

With more than 1000 hours of mindfulness exercises, it's got the most complete meditation library I've ever seen. I can feel my mental health getting a boost by taking a few minutes minutes every day, listening to the programming and reframing my relationship with stress and anxiety.

[Penn Holderness]

So feel good and mean it when you say it. For a limited time, get Headspace for free for 60 days just go to headspace.comholderness yes h e a d s p a c e dot com Holderness to unlock all of Headspace.

[Kim Holderness]

Free for 60 days headspace.com Holderness Penn, you feeling that spring travel itch?

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, you know it. I'm looking outside. The sun is shining. It's perfect out. I'm ready to head to the beach.

[Kim Holderness]

Vacation season is almost upon us and this year I'm treating myself to luxe upgrades I deserve with Quince's high quality travel essentials at fair prices.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, like the lightweight European linen styles from $30, washable silk tops and comfy lounge sets with premium luggage options and stylish tote bags that carry it all.

[Kim Holderness]

The best part? All Quint's Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar. By partnering directly with top factories, Quint cuts the cost of the middleman and passes the savings on to us.

[Penn Holderness]

And Quint's only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes, which we both love.

[Kim Holderness]

I'm definitely going to be grabbing an Italian leather pouch travel set to upgrade my makeup for our next Vacay.

[Penn Holderness]

And I may need to grab like a new toiletry bag as well. For your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from Quint's. Go to quince.comholderness for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order.

[Kim Holderness]

That's Q U I n c e.com Holderness to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Holderness Hey Penn, have you ever had this conversation? You meet someone, they say, hey, how you doing? And without thinking, you just reply, I'm good. You?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, of course. Right.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I decided when I say I'm good, I want to meet it. That's why I'm using Headspace.

[Penn Holderness]

Great. So Headspace is the app that helps me and 100 million people with their mental health and well being with guided meditations, mindfulness practices, breathing and calming exercises, and so much more.

[Kim Holderness]

It reduces stress, boosts your mood, and helps you sleep better. By combining scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness with modern practices, the app.

[Penn Holderness]

Has these customized personalized approaches to help you navigate through all of life's moments, whether they're big or small.

[Kim Holderness]

If you're a total newbie or have been meditating for years. Years, there's always content for what you're going through.

[Penn Holderness]

And if you're short on time, Headspace has these quick on the go programs that help you get in the right headspace in just a few minutes.

[Kim Holderness]

With more than 1000 hours of mindfulness exercises, it's got the most complete meditation library I've ever seen. I can feel my mental health getting a boost by taking a few minutes every day, listening to the programming, and reframing my relationship with stress and anxiety.

[Penn Holderness]

So feel good and mean it when you say it. For a limited time, get Headspace for free for 60 days. Just go to headspace.comHolderness yes. H-E-A-S-P-A C E.comHolderness to unlock all of Headspace. Free for 60 days.

[Kim Holderness]

Headspace.comHolderness you thought I was there. You thought. You kept on trying to roll over because you thought it was still happening and I could not convince you that the colonoscopy done. Hey everybody. I'm Kim Holderness.

[Penn Holderness]

And I'm Pen Holderness. And I haven't eaten anything in 24 hours.

[Kim Holderness]

Does Pen seem extra. I don't know. Cleansed? Do you. Does he. Does he sound extra light?

[Penn Holderness]

I feel like I. My vertical leap has probably gone up a couple inches in the last couple of days because I am on a cleanse and a fast because I'm about to do butt stuff.

[Kim Holderness]

Pen is getting a colonoscopy.

[Penn Holderness]

That's right. In just a few hours.

[Kim Holderness]

His very first. So March is National Colon Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. This is as much fun as you're going to have talking about colonoscopies. It's a very. There'll be some very touching, vulnerable moments in this one. We're going to learn a lot, and hopefully this is going to inspire you to take control of your health by 2030, just six years from now. Colorectal cancer is predicted to be the leading cause of cancer death for people under 30. And according to the Colorectal Cancer alliance, colorectal cancer is the first, fourth most common cancer in US among men and women. One in 24 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime.

[Penn Holderness]

So we're going to follow my journey right now. Just, you know, as we're talking, it's about three hours before the process, but we do have some video and some content from the day before and from this morning. And it's. So it's going to be a bit of a timeline. And in between that timeline, we're also going to take some time to talk to one of our favorite people.

[Kim Holderness]

We're going to introduce Brook Spell, one of our very favorite colon cancer advocates, and she has a fabulous story. But first, I need to ask you, honey, how you feeling?

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, I'm really wanting to get this over with at this point. Like, I haven't. I know that you think that I've been putting off this scheduling. Scheduling. It is difficult to do, and I have been reticent to do it, mainly because this is scary for me.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, right.

[Penn Holderness]

Like in. You'll hear us talk to Brooks about it in a little bit. But I don't know. What if this is the last normal day that I have in my life. I know the odds aren't great that I'm going to have colon cancer. I've had some fecal tests. I don't have any of the symptoms. I don't have any family history. But I've seen what cancer does to people, and it tears their lives apart. It completely changes everything. Sometimes it ends their lives. And so this is scary for me.

[Kim Holderness]

I appreciate you being vulnerable about that. I think we've been very laughy and jokey about it. I try to be. For some background, I have ulcerative colitis, which at one point, there was like 35% of the people who have ulcerative colitis will get colon cancer. My wonderful aunt passed away at 52 from stage four colon cancer. I have to get a colonoscopy like every other year. Ish. And they always find polyps. Polyps turned into cancer. So I think I have done this so regularly that I feel good about it, because if they get the polyp out, you're not gonna get cancer.

[Penn Holderness]

Right.

[Kim Holderness]

So I think when we were. I think as you were chugging the prep and doing all that stuff, I was probably a little more laughy, jokey about it because I was not. That's just how we handle things a lot in our house is making fun of it. But thank you. I thank you for just being honest about how you're feeling.

[Penn Holderness]

Well, it's scary, right? It's. I mean, if you have any other type of cancer, the symptoms seem to be a little bit, at least a little bit more obvious, right? There's like all this stuff that I've started thinking about in the last few days. Like, I know I've told people that I don't have any blood in my stool, and I've never seen blood in my stool. I'm also colorblind. So, like, what if I've had blood in my stool for years and they're gonna look at it and be like, dude, that's red. Like, I don't, I don't know anything. And this is stuff that didn't neurotically bother me until a few days before I realized that, like, okay, this is where I'm gonna find out. I've tried to live a healthy life for the most part. I've made some positive, healthy changes in the last few years even. But this is a 50 year report card where I like meat, I like steak, I drink beer, drink wine, I do all, like, I'll do all those things that a typical dude does. And so I'm about to get the tab for that. I feel like, let's play like, kind of what happened yesterday. So as all this is going on, I get this kit, right? And the way that a colonoscopy goes, for those of you who haven't had one, you just, you stop eating at least 24 hours about, like, solid foods before your colonoscopy. And I did it a little bit earlier because I have one in the afternoon. So it's a meal and then just a bunch of like, liquids and bone broth. And so we took some video that you'll be able to listen to of this process.

[Kim Holderness]

So what you got here? Babe.

[Penn Holderness]

So this is souffle. It's a polyethylene glycol. So it's. Everyone who I've talked to has said this is absolutely delicious and that I'm gonna really enjoy it. So how many colonoscopies have you.

[Kim Holderness]

I've had a colonoscopy every year or every other year since I was 27.

[Penn Holderness]

Since we started dating.

[Kim Holderness]

Since. Since we started dating. One of our first phone conversations was him talking to me while I was evacuating the dance floor.

[Penn Holderness]

Evacuate the dance floor.

[Brooks Bell]

It's gonna be fun, babe.

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, the good news is that the instructions are very succinct.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, it's go time.

[Penn Holderness]

Here's the thing. I can chug fast. I feel like this is gonna help me.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, do it.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh my God.

[Kim Holderness]

I cannot believe you just did that. Now let's introduce our friend, Brooks Bell. Brooks Bell is a self described colonoscopy enthusiast, board member, and a serial entrepreneur. Twenty years ago she founded Brooks Bell Inc. To help bring data driven mindset to digital marketing departments and it quickly became the leading organization in the industry. Very fancy girl. After a life changing colon cancer diagnosis, she's now devoting her time to colon cancer prevention and health equity. Her commitment to bringing awareness to prevention of colon cancer and the importance of timely colonoscopy is saving lives. Her Instagram bio reads, my life advice, in summary, get a dog, a vegetable garden and a colonoscopy. She's also the co founder of World Class Clothing. It's a clothing brand to benefit colonoscopies for the underinsured. She is a remarkable person. Welcome to the show, Brooks Bell.

[Brooks Bell]

It's great to be here, guys.

[Kim Holderness]

We are so excited to see your face. Okay, as a disclaimer, Pen is an active prep right now, so there might be a time when Pen has to just like scoot over and it's just us just putting that out there.

[Penn Holderness]

There's a bathroom fewer than six feet from us, so that's good. It's right there.

[Brooks Bell]

I think this might be the first podcast I've ever done where we are in active prep mode.

[Kim Holderness]

Isn't it exciting?

[Brooks Bell]

That's brilliant. Super special. So honored to be here.

[Kim Holderness]

And he has his shirt. Colonoscopy enthusiast he's been repping.

[Brooks Bell]

You look awesome.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Brooks Bell]

Love it. Love it.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, let's start with you from the beginning. Tell us about. First of all, when were you diagnosed? At what age? And what was happening in your life when you got that diagnosis?

[Brooks Bell]

I was 38 when I was diagnosed and this was Back at the beginning of 2019, and I was busy CEO of my company. I had been running a analytics, AB testing, marketing company for 16 years and running around the country doing conferences, and was at a conference one day in November and went to the bathroom, looked down and saw that I had blood in my stool, and immediately freaked out. Immediately Googled it because it was clearly blood. And a doctor that I got off on the phone was like, oh, no, it's the hemorrhoid. You're fine. You know, we all get them at some point. And at first I was, you know, pretty relieved. And then I want to tell you a quick story that I think is kind of funny. So I was relieved. This was beginning of November. A few weeks later, we had Thanksgiving. And I remember at the Thanksgiving table with my family, and this will speak to my family's humor, we were talking about what we're grateful for, and I was like, oh, I'm grateful that I have a hemorrhoid and not colon cancer. Stop it. So it was clearly on my mind, this fear of colon cancer. And I decided that even though I was joking about it, that I needed to get another opinion. So I got examined in person, and the doctor came to the same conclusion that it was just a hemorrhoid, but she couldn't find one. And so I thought, that doesn't actually add up. So I decided to cold call a gastroenterologist because I really wanted to get a colonoscopy. And I kind of bullied my way in. And when I got in front of the doctor, the gastroenterologist, they were like, yeah, it actually doesn't present, like, a colon, a hemorrhoid. And 38 is not too young for colon cancer. And I could just see in their eyes, like, that they were thinking cancer. The way that everything was going, they're like, two months of bleeding is, like, too long. So they got me in for a colonoscopy four days later, and. And I was diagnosed, you know, with stage. Ultimately with stage three colon cancer.

[Kim Holderness]

So you. Because you have insurance and you have access, and you are a very, you know, headstrong CEO, you bull. You. Your words. You had to bully your way in because at age 38. But colon cancer is being diagnosed younger and younger. So my. I wrote down here. It's scary how many more young people are being diagnosed. My official question was, wtf? But I guess, like, what. Like, what's happening? Why are. Why is this being diagnosed so young?

[Brooks Bell]

They. There is no official answer. You know, officially, we do not Know, but the doctors are freaked out about it, the scientists are freaked out. Everyone is looking and really trying to figure out a hypothesis of what's going on. And so far there's a bunch of them. It could be like exposure to early age antibiotics. It could be not enough fiber in our diet and too much processed foods, processed meats. It could be emulsifiers, it could be microplastics. It could be just a whole host of various kind of environmental factors. And he's out in our environment. Here he goes. See? In a minute, Ben. It could be a lot of things. And the thing is that they're all kind of looking at things that are affecting our microbiome. Our microbiome is based in our gut. It's like. It's like something like 97% of it is in our colon. And so a lot of things affects the balance and the function of our microbiome. If you have an unhappy microbiome, the thinking goes that you'll have some inflammation. Cancer is an inflammatory disease, and that inflammation leads to the growth of a polyp. Polyps lead to the growth of cancer. And so if we can. I mean, the real question is what's causing polyps to grow? And we don't know that either. So, you know, but the microbiome is the most kind of likely candidate. And it's just, it's. But it's hard to study because your microbiome, in other words, it's like a pile of shit, you know, and so it literally is the pile of shit. And so in order to actually study that, you need to like, have shit samples all the time.

[Kim Holderness]

All the time.

[Brooks Bell]

And so who do you, you know, who's in that clinical trial sending in their daily shit, you know, to be examined. And Pen would. He's very regular signing up for that trial.

[Penn Holderness]

I'm sorry, I missed the middle of that.

[Kim Holderness]

So the. It we don't know is the official answer, but there's a lot of things.

[Penn Holderness]

The last thing I heard was microplastics, which scares me.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, that.

[Penn Holderness]

Apparently that's in a lot of dudes balls now. Like, that's was one of the things.

[Kim Holderness]

It's everywhere.

[Penn Holderness]

She's nodding her head.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah, I heard, I read that there's. We have like a spoonful of microplastics in our brains now.

[Penn Holderness]

All right.

[Brooks Bell]

We don't know if it's bad for you, but it doesn't sound like it could be good for you.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So I'm trying to represent the dudes who are supposed to be getting these at 45, I guess everybody. Everybody. Sorry. At this particular age, they see that commercial and they're like, oh, this is so much less embarrassing for me. And I'm only saying that because there isn't. Like, I didn't mind the pooping. I didn't mind. Like, it was basically. It wasn't a dirt road. It was like a water slide. So everything. Like, everything's cool. Brooks was so sweet. She sent me some Preparation H. Yes. I didn't use it, and I don't think I needed it just because it's been very smooth for me. It's. I'm. Anyway, like, that part doesn't bother me. Like, I know how to chug, so I chug the liquid, you know, in the intervals pretty well. It's the. I'm gonna be in a gown, and people are gonna be sticking something up my butt.

[Brooks Bell]

Like.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Have you.

[Brooks Bell]

Why are you worried about that?

[Kim Holderness]

You're gonna be asleep.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, but I don't like being, like, naked on a table with a bunch of people. I don't. And. Okay, I'm just telling you how I'm feeling. This is. I feel like I can't be the only person who feels this way. Like, there's a little bit of anxiety, like, giving away control of yourself entirely, and someone goes and does this. And I'm wondering if you've run into that in any of your advocacy.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah, I think that it's. This is my theory about why that is. You are not alone. I mean, a lot of guys feel this way, and actually, it's. I love that you're voicing this. This anxiety. You know, I think a lot of guys even have a hard time, like, saying out loud that that's the part that they're concerned about. I kind of think what it is, honestly, is that if you think about it, like, anat. Like, women are what I call pokies. We get poked. We're used to it. You know, that's kind of how we're built to receive. Receive. And men are in. Straight men especially, are the pokers. You know, you get poked. You don't. You don't. You're not used to getting poked. You're the one poking. And so getting poked for the first time, you know, is, I think, uncomfortable for a lot of straight men. Like, the. The idea of it, I think, is vulnerable. You know what I mean? Does that resonate?

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, no, because I've had a hernias, and I. So I've been poke that.

[Kim Holderness]

But that explanation does.

[Penn Holderness]

That explanation totally Makes sense.

[Kim Holderness]

That makes sense.

[Penn Holderness]

I don't know what it is for me. I just. I think it's just getting knocked out, and there's a bunch of people walking around.

[Brooks Bell]

They're gonna see inside your butt, you know?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Brooks Bell]

They're gonna see your entire colon, and they see, like, 10 of these colons a day. You know, Your butt is not special to them. Like, they're in buttholes all day long. They really are in buttholes all day for years. For years. Exactly the same as everyone else's butthole, you know? Like, they all. They're. And your insides look the same, so I think it's just realizing that, like, you're not special on that table. And, yes, it's vulnerable to you, and a lot of people are vulnerable for them. Like, this is. They're looking at you really, just as a. As a colon. They're not, like, evaluating, you know, how. How cute you are, how my ass.

[Penn Holderness]

Looks in that gown.

[Brooks Bell]

Right. Yeah. They're not. They're, like, so desensitized to all that.

[Penn Holderness]

It's not that either. I don't know. I wish I could put finger on this. Maybe I'm just scared, like, because it's. This is something that you can't. Like, okay. For testicular cancer, they just get under there and kind of give the old twig and berries a quick look, and you can pretty quickly tell, okay, there's not a lump there. And this is, like, the one thing that's. It's incredibly invasive, and that doesn't bother me. It's the un. Maybe it's the unknown. Like, I've been. I've eaten some crap. I went. I was in Argentina, and I was playing quarters, like, this was a long, long time ago. And I drank 25 centavos, and I'm pretty sure it came out. I never saw it come out.

[Kim Holderness]

You're thinking they might find.

[Penn Holderness]

What if he finds that Argentinian quarter from, like, how old is Lola? 18 years ago. Yeah.

[Brooks Bell]

Are you afraid of, like, maybe the conversation when you wake up?

[Penn Holderness]

Yes, I'm terrified. Like, that's what I'm scared of, I think.

[Brooks Bell]

That's what it is. I think. And a lot of people are afraid of that, too. And when you. So here's what. Here's how I would try to, you know, make you feel better about it. There's really, really only good news that's going to happen. You know, there's kind of three options. The first is that you'll wake up, and they tell you right away you don't have to wait days. They will come and talk to you within like 20 minutes. So they'll. The first option is that you will have nothing in there. They'll say, you're gorgeous, you're clean, best prep ever, and you don't have to come back for a decade. A lot of people get that news. You'll probably hear that that's. Odds are that's what the news is going to be. The second is that they might, they will come back and say, oh, we found a polyp. It might be big, might be small, you know, but say we found a polyp and we already cut it out, so you are now clean. But it's good you came in because we found a polyp and now it was worth it, it was worth your time, but you are now at higher risk and now you have to come back sooner, you know, so that's the downside is you have to now have to do this more often, but you will feel great because this was worth it. And now you feel like you, you actually prevented cancer. And then the third option, the option I think you're worried about, is that they come back and say, like, we found something, we think it might be cancer, you know, and we'll be in touch, you know, and that's basically what I experienced. The chances that are super low, especially if you don't have symptoms. And even if that happened, you would, you would still feel pretty good because, because ultimately you would realize that if you had waited longer to do this, it would be much worse and your chance of survival would be lower. I mean, for me, like, if my, if my tumor had been 1 millimeter deeper in my colon wall, my chances of survival would drop 10 points. So I was thrilled that I pushed through and got my colonoscopy as early as I did. So it's just like, there's all, it's all basic and this, and this is like, I don't know, one in a. One in a hundred. You know that you're going to have that maybe a little bit more. But it's unlikely you're going to have.

[Kim Holderness]

That conversation if you're not having symptoms.

[Brooks Bell]

Right? Let me ask you something.

[Kim Holderness]

More likely, what was your treatment?

[Brooks Bell]

I had surgery, had 10 inches of my colon removed, and I was out of the hospital in 24 hours. And it was, it healed over, you know, about the next month or so. And then I did three months of high dose chemotherapy. The standard is six months of lower dose chemotherapy, but I did kind of like the heavier dose because I was younger. And it was still a pretty early stage, stage three. So the whole thing, end to end, was about six months. The thing is actually the fear really starts when you finish your treatment because it's a waiting game after that. That stage four is the scary stage as the path to not surviving. And if you're stage one through three, you get your treatment, you're good. But now you have to wait for it to recur. And the chances of it coming back, if it comes back, it will be stage four by definition. And by definition, your odds will be much lower. And it will come back if it has the highest risk of coming back in the first one or two years. So you have to basically wait two years after you finish and checking, checking, checking, making sure that you are clean. Unfortunately, it's been six years for me now, so I'm through the. Through the woods.

[Kim Holderness]

More on this after these words. This show is sponsored by Better Help.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay, Kim, let's talk about your support system. So who do you reach out to when you really need help?

[Kim Holderness]

Well, you. Oh, you're pretty great. But I have some really good friends that I can always count on.

[Penn Holderness]

Ride or die sisters.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Is that what you call them? Yeah. Yeah. So thank you for sharing that and for telling me that I'm one of them, which makes me feel better. I know it can be tough, though, for you to ask for help.

[Kim Holderness]

When you think about your mentors and supporters, you realize they don't have all the answers. But they do know when to ask questions or seek support from their community.

[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

Therapy can be a source of support for any area of your life. It's time to shift the focus from quote, doing it all to knowing that we're. We're better when we ask for help.

[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

That's better help. H E L p.comholderness hey, Pen. Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

You know I love a good spring refresh. Deep cleaning the house, putting winter clothes away and getting prepped for the warmer days ahead.

[Penn Holderness]

No, I remember just this weekend carrying all the bulky jackets up to storage.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

Boland Branch even has a 30 night worry free guarantee. Try the sheets for an entire month and feel the difference for yourself. Risk free.

[Penn Holderness]

If you don't get your best night's sleep, you can send them back for a full refund, but I'm betting you're not going to need to do that.

[Kim Holderness]

Feel the difference an extraordinary night's sleep can make with bowl and Branch. Get 15 off plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at bolandbranch.com.

[Penn Holderness]

Holderness that's Bolandbranch B O L L A N D branch.com Holderness to save 15% exclusions apply see site for details Are you looking for a new podcast for your kids? Maybe something to hold their attention on car trips?

[Kim Holderness]

We know there are a lot of kids podcasts out there, but we found something we think you're gonna love.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, while most of those podcasts are made and hosted by adults, we found one that's for kids. Made by kids and hosted by kids.

[Kim Holderness]

Wild Interest.

[Penn Holderness]

Wild Interest. It is super well produced with a original music, great sound design and a whole audio mission designed to calm and regulate kids.

[Kim Holderness]

You know, we talk a lot about ADHD in our podcast and one really important thing you can do to thrive with ADHD is regulate your nervous system.

[Penn Holderness]

Absolutely. When people get dysregulated, even people without adhd. Actually Kim, it can snowball and make regular life, well, difficult. Well, Wild Interest is actually designed to help regulate kids nervous systems. There's calm music and thoughtful subject matters and the vocal tone and cadence are all made with the same result. In mine. Calm and happy kids, parents.

[Kim Holderness]

Try the Wild Interest podcast. You'll be hooked. And it's in its second season so there's tons of episodes to enjoy.

[Penn Holderness]

Wild Interest follow wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kim Holderness]

All right, Penn IQ Joe is the instant mushroom coffee from IQ Bar with bold flavors that's loaded with with functional brain nutrients and 200mg of caffeine for jitter free energy.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. From classic black coffee to toasted hazelnut and vanilla spice, IQ Joe offers coffee shop flavors without the extra sugar.

[Kim Holderness]

Plus, IQ Joe is free from gluten, sugar, soy and GMOs. It's even certified vegan and kosher.

[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

Coffee can be a big expense if you're spending every morning in the drive thru, but IQ Joe's instant mushroom coffee packs in the flavor without the high price.

[Penn Holderness]

And right now, IQ Bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20% off all IQ Bar products. Plus they're going to give you free shipping. So to get your 20% off, text our last name, name. Holderness to 64,000. Text Holderness to 64,000.

[Kim Holderness]

That's Holderness to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Every time I've seen you, you're in an advocate role because you had a brilliant career and like, as you're explaining in this, like ab marketing, this very, you were very fancy your advocacy, you're an advocate now and you have this company called World Class. Can you tell us what World Class is and the work you're doing?

[Brooks Bell]

World Class is the first colonoscopy apparel brand which is like, what does that even makes, does that make even any sense?

[Kim Holderness]

Yes, it does.

[Brooks Bell]

I mean, it's, I'm having. So it, it's a nonprofit, but it is. Well, we are selling merch as the main thing. We don't really do, do traditional fundraising. We're selling merch and it's basically we are on one side trying to change the culture of colon cancer and colonoscopies. Basically, like we have been just like Penn, he's afraid. A lot of people are afraid. We talk about how bad it is. We've been talking about how bad colonoscopies are for like 50 years. We need to be talking about how good they are because they prevent a top three cancer. You know, they prevent it. You know, it's not even about early detection. They prevent it because they remove the polyps that cause it. And so no other screening really does it that way. You know, that is so amazing. And so I am, I'm obsessed with colonoscopies for that reason. And people need to know that it prevents colon cancer. And they need to know that colon cancer Is a massive disease. Like, more people die of colon cancer than breast cancer each year or prostate cancer. So it's. Make it. Anyway, this is a worthy thing to do. And. And so I've been trying to think about how. How do I break through to people, you know, in a way that, like, where people don't want to talk about cancer, they don't want to talk about their colons. The colonoscopy is almost a bad word. You know, how do I make, like, now do I. How do I get. Like, regular people not only just want to talk about it, but are willing to actually become advocates with me, you know, it feels impossible, but I feel like the best path actually is through fashion. Like, can we come up with a fashion label that is like. Like first, like, cute, actually? Cute. Actually kind of funny, a little naughty maybe, And. And then kind of gets people over to our side, you know, because they want to wear something that says ass or something that says world class, you know, and that then they realize that it actually is very comfortable and, like, they feel good when they wear it. Like, it was truly, like, a high quality piece of clothing that they happen to reach for all the time, which is what we were seeing, the shirts.

[Kim Holderness]

I have to say that it is so comfortable, like, and we sell merch. I'm like, oh, I have to find out who our vendor is, because these are really, really.

[Brooks Bell]

And I'll say also the sweatpants. I hope you have tried on those sweatpants.

[Kim Holderness]

He's wearing them.

[Brooks Bell]

Are you wearing them? What do you think?

[Penn Holderness]

They're. They're going to be really easy to take off and put back on when I'm in the hospital.

[Brooks Bell]

They're oversized.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Brooks Bell]

They are, like, telling me they feel naked in them.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, that. So that's the same vibe I'm getting. I keep forgetting that I have pants on. So that's a great sign. And some of the branding, they put. They. They put a asterisk in front of a. To give you this idea that you're talking about your ass, which I love. That's some good humor. How important is humor, Brooks, in. In raising awareness and starting the conversation?

[Brooks Bell]

Extremely, extremely important. I think with cancer, the word can't. I mean, cancer is not funny, right? It is very. I mean, it's about death. It's about. I mean, I mean, it's very, very sad. Very serious. Not funny at all. And I think for that reason, like, it's just hard to talk about it. Hard to kind of. I don't know. It's just. It's a difficult cause. And, and I think that with, with a colonoscopy, it's like there. I mean we've heard so many comedians have a bit about colonoscopies for years. Like there is built in humor around colonoscopies already. And how do we just help kind of reframe it, use that humor that's already there? I mean we're talking about assholes here. You know, like we like every, we, we have like built in like love for butt humor starting as a two year old, you know what I mean? It's just sort of like part of who humans are. We love butt jokes.

[Kim Holderness]

You had to arm wrestle your way into a colonoscopy. My people in my family, who we, I, I have, I have polyps. Every time I have colonoscopy who have histories of this, they're still saying and they're having symptoms and they're still saying like, oh, but insurance will only cover it if it's, you know, in three years or whatever. How, how do you push against the, the system? If you are concerned, you're listening to this and the standard age insurance is going to cover it is at 45, but you're having a rumbling in your tumbly and you're 42. How can you advocate for yourself to be able to get this screening?

[Brooks Bell]

If you have blood in your stool, you should get a colonoscopy. You are qualified for it and it should be covered as a, what's considered a diagnostic colonoscopy. And what that means is that will be mostly covered, but you will have to pay the difference with your deductible. It will hit your deductible, so you have to pay something for it. So it really depends on how big is that deductible, how much of it have you, you know, run down already? So, but independent of that, like try to get a colonoscopy if you have blended stool, especially if it goes on for more than a day or two, you know what I mean? And also if you have lost a bunch of weight, if you have like pencil stool, if your blood, if, if your, if your bowel movements have changed a lot, if you have pain, you know, and you're like, I mean you should just be like not ignoring symptoms. You should not feel, be feeling pain in like your lower back or in your stomach a lot. You should be talking to someone about it and pushing for colonoscopy. Even if you're under the age of 45. Especially if you're under the age of 45. I think what doctors, doctors are good people who care a lot, but they, I think they're sort of required to offer you the, the cheaper options first before they offer you the bigger ticket item, which is the colonoscopy. So if you are in there pushing for the big ticket item and continue to push, they will give it to you. But you, it's kind of, they won't automatically start there. So that's. If you have symptoms. If you don't have symptoms and you're under the age of 45, then it's much more difficult to get an early colonoscopy. The best really what you have to do, I mean basically the only way is if you have family history and so you have to describe family history. And family history counts as a parent or a, like a sibling that actually had colon cancer or had a large polyp. So you should be talking with your parents and asking them not just about their cancer history, but actually their polyp history.

[Kim Holderness]

First of all, I've had a colonoscopy every other year since age 27. So I feel like I, I got it down. He was asking me tips and tricks. I would say every two weeks I get an email saying I'm getting my first colonoscopy. Tell me your tips and tricks. You are a pro to the level that you sent over gummy bears. I had no idea gummy bears were a clear liquid because you can only do clear liquid. What are your other discoveries to make colonoscopy prep better?

[Brooks Bell]

You start a week ahead of time and start to back in. Basically like you change your diet for a few days, stop eating seeds and start eating unhealthy for a few days. Enjoy the unhealthy like pizza and bagels and like low fiber foods for a few week, for a few days. And then the day of we have basically, or I'm sorry, the day before actually two days before you do, you go shopping. Get a shopping list or shopping list out there. I'll be putting out a shopping list. But basically you have getting the broth. Broth is a huge part of it. We basically have a salty and sugary kind of. For me, I do sugar in the morning, salt in the afternoon to mix it up. Some folks like doing salt in the morning, you know, and no sugar. But basically get, get just thinking about it strategically about like how do I keep my energy up throughout the day? How do I have a little bit of fun, you know, with it? Like by eating, you know, I have root beer usually I don't drink root Beer through the rest of your year. But I love root beer. So I drink root beer on the fast day. So just having the attitude of like, I get to drink stuff. I usually don't get a drink. I get to have my gummy bears for lunch. And then in the afternoon I start thinking about savory, warm, cozy, you know, because it's getting harder and harder as the day goes on. Once you get to 5:30, it's time to do your prep. We think about it as a cleanse rather than a prep, you know, like, and we're about to get skinny or we're gonna. About to get light, you know, we start thinking about it being more like a waterfall, like coming through your butt rather than like a violent shit on.

[Penn Holderness]

The wall, like a neti pot.

[Kim Holderness]

A neti pot for your butt.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah, it's. It's relaxing. You know, you, you, you start. I would start focusing on like the fact that I'm gonna feel this little pressure every few minutes. And then I get to relieve that pressure, you know, I don't know, it just kind of feels. And then, I don't know, hanging out in my bed with some guilty pleasure of something to read and get near the bathroom. But just like, I don't know, it's just all about resting all day and, and I don't know, it's. I mean, the only hard part is drinking the prep, you know, and then you're, you're thinking more about for the prep, the actual prep liquid. You put it in the fridge, cool it down, get a straw. Or you just chug it, have some chasers. Just like relearn what you knew in college before. You have learned to enjoy beer or vodka. How do you get those down? You chug it and you chase it. So it's the same kind of thing. I schedule my colonoscopy for the afternoon so I don't have to get up early and get my full sleep, which it seems like that's what you guys have done. And then, you know, I think once you begin the actual cleanse, I'm not really hungry anymore. I'm just too focused on the cleanse. And then it's once the. So then the day, then you go into the doctor's office. After that you are like golden. All the work is done now kind of the fun begins. It seems like I start focusing on the nap I'm about to get.

[Kim Holderness]

That is, this is.

[Brooks Bell]

So when I get into that or, you know, and they are. I can see all the equipment around. I usually ask a Few questions about the equipment. Pen. Ask them to show you the scope. Show you the thing that's going to go up your butt. It's interesting. Have them show you the screen. You know?

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

I've got an imagination of what I think it's going to look like.

[Kim Holderness]

It's. It's. It's exactly what you think it's going to look like.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. Like a little snake. Yeah. Okay.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah. Have them show you. Show you the scope and the screen. Just the equipment while you're in there. They'll do it. And then when they are getting ready to like, put. Get put that. The. The drugs in, like, try to stay awake.

[Kim Holderness]

It's so fun.

[Brooks Bell]

Tell a joke, see if I. Beginning of the joke, finish the joke. When you wake up, I always try.

[Kim Holderness]

To have something sassy to say, like, as I'm going out and I never get to the end of it, like, yeah, I'm so jealous of you right now. This is the best nap. And when I got a colonoscopy, I think My son was 1 and my daughter at the time was 3. I told the nurses, I was like, hey, I know you need me out of here because it is kind of like a factory. I'm like, could I just have like another 10 minutes? And they were like, they put me in the back and they pulled as many curtains as they could and they were like, let her rest. She's a new mom. It is the best. I am so jealous of you right now.

[Penn Holderness]

How did you feel the first time, though? Like, I'm glad that you're jealous of me.

[Kim Holderness]

So my family history is different.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

So I have ulcerative colitis. And I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis before my. My aunt was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and she passed. So I had been aware that there was like a family history of weird stuff, but because I was 20, I had 27 blood in the stool. I. I think I. I was. Didn't know enough to be scared. Like.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I think I know enough to be scared.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

It's like everything you just said was great, but. And I want to, like, I want to stay awake as long as I can. I want to tell a joke. But there's also this part of me in the back of my mind who's like, you told me the chances, and I know they're not. Not. They're non zero. Like, what if this is the last normal day I have in my entire life?

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. I'm sorry that this is right.

[Penn Holderness]

So I know, I know that, like, it sounds like fun and exciting, but, like, I can't. That thought will not escape my head. It's there. It's not going away.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah, well, you know, I think it's then, I mean, you have something in common with people who have, who've gotten cancer. You know, you have some empathy for how they feel and how scary it is, how serious it is, you know, that you really don't want to get cancer of any kind. And that's why this is so important.

[Kim Holderness]

You know, I am obsessed with the work you're doing and what you're dedicating your life to now. How can people find you and support the work you're doing?

[Brooks Bell]

They can find us at www.worldclassclothing.com. they can find us on Instagram, worldclassclothing. And we'd love people to discover the brand. Check it out. If they don't like the clothing, they can certainly donate. And then all of the net profits and also 10% of the sales on top of the net profits go to paying for reducing barriers in for underinsured communities. And so they donate, then 100% of that will going to kind of paying for rides, paying for translators, in some cases for actual colonoscopies for folks who really have a lot of heart, a hard time getting them. And also these are folks who've already had a positive stool test. So that very high, high risk. So that's why we're a nonprofit is that we want to both increase awareness and actually directly increase access for people who really need it. So we'd love all the support out there. We'd love people to check it out and join our little tribe of colonoscopy enthusiasts.

[Kim Holderness]

Thank you so much. We will update you on Penn. We will all text you later when he's out just to update you. Yeah. And we're so excited about World Class and the closing and I love the work you're doing. So please let us know anything, how we can help.

[Penn Holderness]

And I want to thank you personally for, like, having this conversation with me right now. I think we drilled into the kind of the issues that I've got right now that I don't think I've been really discussing too much. And thanks for telling me I'm not alone. And thanks for bringing this to light and also for putting the positive spin on it that I thought you did. Like there's no. There's three outcomes and they're all positive.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Or they're, you know, you're all going to walk away saying, thank God I.

[Kim Holderness]

Did this, Right, Right.

[Brooks Bell]

Yeah, it's. You'll feel so much better after your. When you wake up, go get a great lunch together, then go home and just take the dress of the day off. Like it's, you know, self care day for you. Like it's going to be. You're going to feel so good this afternoon. So proud of yourself. I'll feel very proud of you.

[Penn Holderness]

Thank you. It's.

[Brooks Bell]

It'll. It'll be, I think, overall, a really positive experience.

[Kim Holderness]

And we're back.

[Penn Holderness]

We are back. So this is a. We're flashing forward time travel. The colonoscopy is done. There's a video. There's some video and some content. We can even insert as we talk about this. But I am still here and I do not have cancer. And that is wonderful. But they found six polyps. They were between 4 and 6 millimeters. And that is reason to go back in about three years just to check. Apparently that's fairly normal. They said it's between 40, 45% of people my age actually have polyps at this point. But man. Kim, I like, we just got done talking on this podcast about how stressed out I was. Even though they found some stuff, I just feel. I feel so much better right now that I did it.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. Just like Brooke said, you know, there's three outcomes and they're all good.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And you're at the second one, which is they found polyps. Six of them is not nothing. And I. But what I love is like they're not there anymore. The doctor goes in, takes them out and that just. You're. Now your risk of colon cancer essentially is zero. Is zero.

[Penn Holderness]

Right.

[Kim Holderness]

And so you're going to go back in three years. I know they said three to five, but I'm going to make it three. And they're going to do it again. And if you have polyps, you take them again. And that is why this is the best, most like, efficient cancer screening tools, because you can take the potential for cancer out of your butt right there.

[Penn Holderness]

There you go. No, I'm glad we did it. Apparently, I don't remember most of it.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, okay. Can I take over this part of the story?

[Penn Holderness]

Sure.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. This is where the fun begins. They come to get me and he was just rolled out of. I mean, this is a. They have a factory set up, you guys. It is. It's not a spa. It is a factory. I appreciate it. I love that so many people are getting colonoscopy base. He's rolled up and the nurses are all dying. Laughing as I walk up.

[Penn Holderness]

Wait, already?

[Kim Holderness]

Because you. You were giggling and laughing, and we had no idea what. Here's my theory. I think that when you wake up from anesthesia, you get down to the core of who you are. When I wake up from anesthesia, I'm very emotional and I get a little weepy, which I think speaks to me as a person. Just so, like, emotional and weepy. You were. You were filled with so much joy. You were laughing, like, cackling head, going back. I shot. You know, I had to be respectful because there's people everywhere, and they ask you not to lose your. Use your cell phone. So I only got a few seconds of this. But the clip you're about to hear is, he was asking me, like, how come when I did my colonoscopies, he wasn't allowed in because he thought I was walking in in the middle of the procedure.

[Penn Holderness]

Get in here. Turning your butts down.

[Kim Holderness]

Yes. No, no, no.

[Brooks Bell]

I.

[Kim Holderness]

The bed stuff's over. It's already over, babe.

[Penn Holderness]

Wait, what?

[Kim Holderness]

I tell you the bed stuff's already over. No, you thought I was there. You thought. You kept on trying to roll over because you thought it was still happening. And I could not convince you that the colonoscopy was done.

[Penn Holderness]

Done. Yeah. So I. I remember waking up in the middle of the procedure and you being there and Anne Marie being there.

[Kim Holderness]

So he did not wake up in the middle of the procedure.

[Penn Holderness]

I'm telling you, that's the only thing I remember.

[Kim Holderness]

But you did.

[Penn Holderness]

Because I had a dream about it.

[Kim Holderness]

You did ask the nurses several times if you woke up in the middle. And they said no. And then you said they were listening to Elvis music.

[Brooks Bell]

And.

[Kim Holderness]

And you said, were you listening to Elvis music? And they were like, no. So. And the nurse was so funny. She, like, this is why I love my job, because it's just people coming off of anesthesia, and they always say the funniest things. Apparently, some people can be very violent.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh.

[Kim Holderness]

Like, they can start. They come off, and they're so confused. They start swinging. You were so, so confused. You were laughing. I wish I could bottle that moment. I was crying, laughing. It was amazing. But then it Very quickly. I mean, within. Within 10 minutes, you were like. Like back to who you are. But it was amazing. Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

By the time the doctor came in, I understood and remembered everything that he said. I remember feeling pretty good, pretty loosey goosey, you know, like hearing here. I mean, you mentioned the polyps, but I asked, like, how am I right now? Between 1 to 10 he's like, you're an 11. You're fine.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

And that's wild to me because there were these things that are. It's not pre cancerous, but they're these things that eventually, if they. You let them grow for too long, they turn into something.

[Kim Holderness]

They could possibly turn into cancer. I think it's the best possible outcome because. Because of the microphone you have, you had no symptoms, no family history, yet you had six polyps, and it's. Now they're gone.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay. You keep saying six polyps is. Is not nothing. When you. Like, when you got treated, how many did. What was your.

[Kim Holderness]

My first one was many.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And I think I go every. Wait one, two, three years. It just sort of depends. And they always find little ones. But sometimes, like, there are flat polyps that, like, are. Get really. And I've had those, like, flat polyps.

[Penn Holderness]

Are those worse?

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. So there's different kinds. And so I've just had ones that they have said, you know what? Like, you know how they said to you, Penn. He goes, I don't think these are anything. We send them away, we get them tested, but I don't think there's anything. The last couple times, he's like, there was this one, and it was sort of flat, and I got it. And we're just gonna keep our eye on that one. And he. They've always come back benign.

[Penn Holderness]

Right.

[Kim Holderness]

So. But because I get them done every couple years, I only have. I'll only have three or four.

[Penn Holderness]

Right.

[Kim Holderness]

Because I'll go in every few years, but if I had waited till now, I'd probably have 30, you know.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. And that's, again, that's part of your family history, and it's a reason why you started doing it earlier. So. So.

[Kim Holderness]

Right. And the next time you go, in three years, you'll probably have one or two.

[Penn Holderness]

You know, it's almost like a. You go to the dentist and they're like, here's some places you didn't really brush well.

[Kim Holderness]

And then I'm just gonna make your.

[Penn Holderness]

Teeth perfect and they fix them while they're there.

[Brooks Bell]

It's.

[Kim Holderness]

It's exactly what that's like. Like.

[Penn Holderness]

And I know that it's like a more invasive procedure and involves a lot of money, but really, I'm just gonna say it did. It was not a huge problem. Problem. Like yesterday, Kim, I. We. We did a podcast on this. We had two other meetings. I got a colonoscopy. I went with my son to basketball practice. We got up in the morning and shot three videos.

[Kim Holderness]

Right.

[Penn Holderness]

It didn't really interrupt too much of the, of the, the direction of our, of our lives either. I thought it was going to be a lot more disruptive.

[Kim Holderness]

Right.

[Penn Holderness]

So that was nice.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. You did a great job. I'm so proud of you for doing this because I know it, you know, I was scared you, you had some emotion around it. And I am just proud of you for using your microphone to encourage people to do it. If you're listening to this, this is your sign to make your appointment.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

And just like Brooks told us, if you are having symptoms and you are under 45, talk to your doctor. Those doctors want to help you. It's not all in your head. Fight for yourself and go get your butt chipped.

[Penn Holderness]

This been a long podcast. People have been through a lot. We, we've ex. We've made them listen to a lot of stuff.

[Kim Holderness]

I love you guys.

[Brooks Bell]

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[Kim Holderness]

Hey, it's Marc Marin from WTF here to let you know that this podcast is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. And I'm sure the reason you're listening.

[Penn Holderness]

To this podcast right now is because.

[Kim Holderness]

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