After a full day of eating only chicken broth and downing a lot of water, Sparks Mayor Geno Martini suited up in a hospital gown for his first full colonoscopy Friday afternoon.

“I’ll be aiming for food after this thing,” Martini said, with a hearty laugh. “So watch out.”

But jokes aside, Martini volunteered his time, colon and arguably some privacy when he stepped forward for the procedure to honor Colon Cancer Awareness month, a cause that northern Nevada doctors have been pushing for in recent years.

And reasonably so. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of deaths in the United States — second only to smoking — killing more than 50,000 people every year. Just in Nevada, 490 people die every year from colon cancer, with fewer than half of all Nevadans getting screened.

“We know if we can get people screened, we can save lives,” said Dr. John Gray, chairman of the Nevada Cancer Council Task Force on Colon Cancer and Martini’s doctor for the afternoon. “We’re going to make a difference for colon cancer.”

The procedure, which is usually completed within 20 minutes, takes a small camera attached to a flexible, lighted tube passed through the anus that checks for small benign tumor substances, called polyps, Gray said.

Whatever polyps are found are snared and burnt off the lining of the colon typically during the same procedure.

“Polyps are small bumps of tissue, that if they start to proliferate, can turn into cancer,” Gray said. “If left too long, it can grow locally, obstruct the colon and spread to other organs.”

The problem is, as screening test numbers show, not enough people get screened, perhaps due to the uncomfortable nature of the procedure itself. This is an issue Gray and the Colon Cancer Task Force hope to address.

“We’ve been improving the preparations,” Gray said, explaining that patients used to have to drink a gallon of water with an electrolyte and Vitamin C solution within a matter of only a few hours. “Now, patients drink a half gallon and it’s much easier for them to take.”

The other challenge to increasing the number of people who get screened is that most patients believe they have to be referred by their primary care doctor, which isn’t the case; people can self-refer, Gray said.

Furthermore, while most primary care doctors do recommend that their patients get colon screenings, Gray feels people need to be reminded more when they come to see their primary care doctor.

Gray recommends that everyone over the age of 50 get a colonoscopy, even if they don’t experience symptoms.

“That’s probably the biggest misconception about colon cancer,” Gray said. “Most people think that if they’re active and eat well, they don’t have to get screened. That’s actually very limited protection. Everyone is susceptible and they are usually no symptoms at all.”

Gray did offer some tips to keep colons in top condition. Among them are eating high-fiber and calcium-rich foods and avoiding high fat items.

And high fat was just what Reno Mayor Bob Cashell wanted to bring in when he visited with Martini before his procedure.

“I really wanted to bring a cheeseburger with the cheese dripping on the sides,” Cashell said, in order to tempt a hungry Martini.

Cashell, who has had the recommended screenings every 10 years, just had his a screening last year. Cashell came to support his fellow mayor.

“If it will help somebody else, then we’ll do it,” Cashell said.

Martini, before his procedure, echoed Cashell’s sentiments.

“If people see me doing it, hopefully they’ll do it,” Martini said. “This is all about awareness. Everybody should get it done.”