Colonoscopies start at 45 now. Yes, you.

The Lemon Drop is our Wednesday ritual: one thing worth knowing, in the time it takes to reheat your coffee. This one is personal.

I get colonoscopies because of my dad. He did the right thing. He had a colonoscopy a year and a half before his cancer was found. Then his results were lost, nobody called, and back then no news meant good news. By the time anyone caught it, it was too late. He died of colon cancer when I was 13. He didn't have to.

So I live by two rules. Get screened on schedule. And chase every result until a human tells you what it says. No news is not good news. No news is a phone call you make.

Here is the one thing worth knowing: the starting age for colonoscopy screening is now 45, not 50. If you're sandwich generation, that's you, or it's coming fast. If a parent or sibling had colon cancer or polyps, you start at 40, or ten years before their diagnosis age, whichever is earlier. (I started at 35 because of my doctor's advice.)

And here's why this test earns its reputation: a colonoscopy doesn't just find cancer. It removes precancerous polyps on the spot, during the test. The at-home stool tests can only detect. This is the one that prevents.

The door: cdc.gov/colorectal-cancer/screening. Then one phone call to your doctor.