As a regular Today Show viewer, Linda from Salt Lake City had heard Katie Couric talk about colon cancer being the "silent killer" and knew she was at the age to be checked. Even though Linda wasn't experiencing symptoms that interfered with her daily activities, she knew she needed to do everything she could to ensure that she would have plenty of years to watch her four grandchildren grow up.

Five years ago, Linda went in for her first colonoscopy. After three years, she went back for another and then found herself going in every six months for repeat colonoscopies to remove polyps. It was clear to her and her physician that she couldn't continue to have a colonoscopy every six months, but the thought of open surgery was frightening. Linda's memories of previous open surgeries included significant pain and long recovery times.

Linda researched her options on the Internet and talked to others that had opted for a minimally invasive colon surgery. After discussion with her physician, the two agreed that a laparoscopic procedure would allow for more polyps to be removed, and a similar rate of recurrence--and would therefore be the best option for her. On Oct. 4, 2004, at age 60, Linda was wheeled in for laparoscopic surgery to remove the polyps in her colon--and 69 minutes later, she was wheeled into recovery.

Linda remembers there was some pain after the procedure, and her small incision stung for a few days, but after two weeks she was back to doing everything she had done before. "The recovery has been very good," Linda said. "I haven't been tired and there's nothing I can't do!"

Much to Linda's surprise, the polyps removed during her colon surgery were cancerous. This news certainly came as both a shock and a relief to Linda--reinforcing the need for getting checked often and catching cancer early. Linda already has been urging all three of her children to go in for a check-up.

"If I needed surgery again and a minimally invasive surgery is offered as an option, I would definitely opt for it," Linda said. "It's a lot less scary to me than open surgery." But don't just take Linda's word for it--watching her garden, cook, sew, and chase her grandchildren around is enough to know what a quicker recovery meant for Linda.