[MUSIC PLAYING] My name is Dr. Martin Uwah. I'm a colon and rectal surgeon here at the University of Chicago. And part of my job as a colorectal surgeon is really to treat a wide range of conditions. So that's anything from cancers of the colon, of the rectum, of the anus, inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis. I take care of people with diverticulitis, which is inflammation of the colon, and even conditions of the anorectal area. As a kid, I always really wanted to help people. And I think most of that was instilled in me from my parents. They always really emphasized the importance of doing for others. And so really, the issue was just figuring out how I was going to do such a thing. And so as a kid and growing up, I always thought about medicine, that that might be something I'd like to do. But I didn't really anything about medicine. I didn't have any family members or friends that were doctors. But with the encouragement of my parents, I got through college, fortunately got into medical school. And once I got there, I realized, yeah, this is where I need to be. I think University of Chicago really has a commitment to really emphasizing and prioritizing the health of the community in which they are in. And so as I was going through my year of training, every day, I would see the commitment to excellence. I would see the commitment to pushing the boundaries of surgery in order to really help patients. And by the end of my training, I knew I had to stay. And I never left. It's a really special place. The big foundational aspect of how I treat patients, it all starts with respect. And then everything filters off of that. I think we're all humans. We all have things that we're dealing with at home, whether it be, What am I going to have for dinner? to what is going on with your family, your job, and then your health. And so whenever I meet patients in the clinic, when I meet patients in the hospital, they're carrying that with them whenever I see them. And so when I come in as a surgeon, it's oftentimes at their most vulnerable point. And I think it's really important to emphasize that you are a person. And so I hear you, and we're working together. I would emphasize the importance of screening, so screening for colon cancer. I think the misconception with colonoscopies, it's something that you do when you're 60 or 70. I think it's very important. Right now, the recommendation is, at the very least, we should all be getting colonoscopies at 45. And I think what really stops a lot of people is fear. And truthfully, I had a mentor that would tell me, I do not want anybody, any of my patients dying because of fear. And I don't want any of my patients dying because of embarrassment. So certainly getting a colonoscopy, certainly coming to a colorectal surgeon and saying, hey, I've been having abdominal pain or I've been bleeding whenever I go to the bathroom, that's nothing to be nervous about. That's nothing to be embarrassed about. I don't want things to progress to the point where you have cancer or God forbid you had a cancer that was just sitting there and we didn't about it because you were worried about how it looked or you were feeling bashful. And so that's why whenever I talk to my patients, I want them to feel normal. It goes back to the respect. [MUSIC PLAYING]