I had my first colonoscopy last year. I probably would have put it off for quite a while longer, but my wife had one done and kind of shamed me in to it. Anyway, it wasn’t as unpleasant as I had imagined and the results were good. I was told I didn’t need another one for 10 years since I didn’t have any family history of colon cancer.

I just read a woman’s story on MSNBC.com and I felt it compelling enough to share.

A lot of us lived through those times when it was truly different for someone to be successfully treated for cancer. I remember that back then it was often referred to as natural causes. A person died at age 38 of natural causes. They died due to cancer because, excuse me, but there isn’t anything natural about dying at 38.

Anyway, a compelling story about why to learn and remember your family health history.

Bottom line. From a health and life insurance standpoint, if you have a family history of, well, anything, you will fare much better if you have regular checkups. Cancer caught early is very curable today.