These GEA employees have a message for their coworkers: Get a colonoscopy
It’s free with GEA insurance, easier than people think, and “can save a life”
Colorectal cancers affect hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S., including GEA employees like Mike Racculia and Lana Boes. During Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month this March, employees like Mike and Lana are telling their stories and encouraging others to get a colonoscopy.
When Mike Racculia’s digestive system started acting up in early 2021, he considered several potential causes.
Maybe he needed more fiber in his diet or to exercise more often or, perhaps, to drink more water. Could it be Crohn’s Disease? An allergy? Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Any of those were possible. But colon cancer? Not on Mike’s list.
“As a 47-year-old man, I had the attitude of ‘I’m young and strong.’ I wasn’t thinking about getting sick,” says, National Account Sales Director with GEA, now 48.
But in August 2021, after a couple months of trying and failing to get his gut back in order, Mike returned to his primary care physician and scheduled a colonoscopy. The diagnosis: Stage 4 colon cancer and a metastasized tumor in his liver. Now, he says, he wishes he had just started with a colonoscopy – and wants his message to resonate with others.
Personal plea for you to get the screening
“Get a colonoscopy. It’s free with our insurance and it’s lifesaving,” Mike says, who has undergone surgery to remove the tumor in his colon and part of his liver, along with 12 rounds of chemotherapy. “It could have prevented a lot of pain and suffering I’ve had to go through.”
Mike is not alone. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer for men and women in the U.S. The American Cancer Society estimates almost 107,000 new colon cancer and 46,000 new rectal cancer diagnoses in 2023. While the ACS recommends people with average risk for colon cancer start getting colonoscopies at 45 – earlier if there are risk factors such as family history – many people are still resistant to it.
For some, the deterrent is cost or the trouble of setting up an appointment. But with GE Appliance’s benefits, those barriers are removed. Colonoscopy procedures are covered under GEA insurance plans and Benefit Pro can help schedule the appointment and navigate any follow up. Connect with your Benefit Pro by logging into the Alight Portal at benefits.geappliances.com or by calling 866-256-5118.
“Why not?” asks Carla …
Carla Ray, a 43-year-old Senior Area Sales Manager in western North Carolina, is one team member who decided to get the screening despite having no family history or risk factors. A good friend’s husband died of colon cancer at 44 and she decided if insurance was going to pay for it, why not?
“Preventive health is important,” says Carla, whose scan was clear giving her peace of mind for herself and her 11-year-old son. “My mentality is if it’s broke, let’s fix it before it gets worse.”
Besides, she says, getting a colonoscopy is easier than most people think.
“Best 45 minutes of sleep of my life,” Carla says. “I recommend everyone to be brave enough to take this small step that could lead to saving your life, or at least adding much more quality and many more years to it.”
Employees come together, encourage each other at colon cancer support group
Lana Boes, Program Manager for Final Mile Delivery, discovered she had colon cancer via a colonoscopy in 2013. She had already beaten cervical cancer five years before and it didn’t occur to her that she might have colon cancer, even though the disease took her mother’s life years before.
“I was right at my five-year mark. Another cancer wasn’t on my mind,” Lana says. By 2016, chemotherapy wasn’t working anymore, and she was accepted into a two-year clinical trial. Today, she has no evidence of disease and works tirelessly to help survivors and others battling cancer, like Mike Racculia, via a colon cancer support group.
Mike and Lana will continue fighting the disease and sharing their stories as loudly and often as possible to spur others to get screened for colorectal cancers. It’s one way they can help.
“I’ll be as public as I have to be,” Mike says. “If I save one life, maybe it would be worth me getting sick.”
Preventive health starts with your primary care provider
Do you have a doctor you see at least once a year? That relationship is important. They are always on the lookout for you and can recommend screenings at the right time. If you don’t have a primary care provider and you work in Louisville or at Roper, check out the onsite CareATC clinic. They are confidential, low-cost and you get more time with a provider.