Jim Hopkins jokes that he was always a “tough guy.” The 72-year-old former construction worker, who now works as a school janitor, took that attitude toward his health. He never thought he needed to undergo screenings like colonoscopies, generally recommended every 10 years for adults with no risk factors, starting at age 45.

“A colonoscopy is the gold standard for accuracy in detecting colon cancer and it can catch pre-cancerous polyps before they turn into cancer,” says Megan Yeager, a nurse practitioner at WellSpan Digestive Health – Ephrata. “But there also are two at-home test options – with no bowel prep, change in diet, or driver needed after the procedure – for those who are eligible.”

Jim simply was not interested in any of that.

“You know how some guys are,” he says. “I knew several people who had gone for colonoscopies and every one of them had a clean bill of health. I never knew anyone who had colon cancer. Being the tough guy, I never got tested.”

Then he started noticing blood in his stool. Jim, who lives in Newmanstown, which is northwest of Ephrata, finally got his first colonoscopy two years ago, at the age of 71, at the WellSpan Endoscopy Center in Lancaster County. He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, meaning it already had spread beyond his colon to other organs.

“It was pretty devastating. My wife was really upset,” he says. “I didn’t feel bad so if somebody hadn’t told me I had cancer, I wouldn’t have known it. I think about it every day.”

Jim received radiation treatments and now receives chemotherapy every two weeks at WellSpan Ephrata Cancer Center, treatment he likely will continue for the rest of his life as long as he can tolerate it. It won’t cure his cancer, but it will allow him to enjoy life, work and spend time with his family, which includes two daughters and three grandchildren.

So far, Jim says, so good. He feels good and is grateful for the care he receives at the cancer center, where he is on a first-name basis with most people and has found a second family.

“I have no visible side effects of the treatment,” he says. “No nausea, no being tired, no nothing.”

But Jim wishes he had made a different choice about testing 30 years ago. Take it from a tough guy: “Don’t be bullheaded like me. Go and get a colonoscopy whenever your doctor recommends it.”

Learn more about your colon cancer screening choices by going here.

Jim Hopkins (seated) with the team at WellSpan Ephrata Cancer Center.