Walking the Walk on Team Colonoscopy
When Sophie Gabler took a position on the global GI team at Olympus, it wasn’t her first medtech role, but she hadn’t worked in gastroenterology before. “I was very new to this space,” she recalled. Now on the heels of her third-year work anniversary, she has been fully emersed in the Olympus® GI portfolio, including supporting the launch of the EVIS X1TM endoscopy system and its related imaging technologies, as well as developing strategic assets for Olympus’ #EveryAdenomaCounts campaign.
It was at her first national sales meeting that the colorectal cancer (CRC) screening message really started to take root personally. “Brooks [Bell] … came in and talked about her experience with colon cancer” said Gabler, referring to the self-proclaimed ‘Colonoscopy Enthusiast’ and Worldcl*ss Clothing founder who has been an outspoken ally of Olympus and a CRC screening advocate. Bell’s emphasis on the highly preventable nature of CRC and the rising rates of the disease in a younger generation1 is a message that stuck with Gabler.
Read more about Brooks Bell’s experience or listen to the OlympusTalks podcast.
“The Olympus benefit came up in that meeting,” said Gabler, referring to the company policy to cover the cost of screening colonoscopies for all employees, not just those between 45 and 75 years of age based on the recommended guidelines.2 Natalie Rutman, Director of Public Relations and Social Media at Olympus, shared her story with Gabler about taking advantage of the colonoscopy screening benefit. The momentum was building.
‘Let’s do it!’
“My boss said she was going to do it … and I was like, ‘wait a second, I want to look into this.’” Another colleague of Gabler’s also committed to having a colonoscopy. “The team actually helped push it forward in our rally cry earlier this year in March [during] CRC month,” she recalled, referring to National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. “That was when the team was like, ‘I’m doing it. I’m doing it. Let’s do it!’”
““The two paths are, one, they don’t find anything ... that’s path A and that’s fabulous. Path B is they find something, and you are able to address it at that time … before it gets worse.”
‘Why are you here?’
Gabler soon learned that the healthcare system isn’t always used to such proactive preventative pursuits. “They were definitely like, ‘Why are you here?’” Gabler said of her reception at the prescreening appointment. “I know it’s going to sound weird, but I get this benefit with my company,” she told the attendant and showed her a flyer, adding, “I just want to get screened.” “Wow,” the doctor reacted. “I never heard of this. Do they do this for everyone?”
Prep tips and hacks
Once the date was set, Gabler knew to clear her calendar. “I made sure to schedule it on a free day,” she said. In researching her plan, she found a solution to get her through a roughly 30-hour fast. “The prep was genuinely super easy. I [chose] the CLENPIQ® prep, so it was two [doses] … because my colonoscopy was 2:30-3 p.m. the following day,” she said. “I did one at 5 p.m. the day before and then one the next morning before the [exam]. I think everything was cleared out of my system the next morning.” Gabler said she got through the hunger bouts with Jolly Ranchers hard candy and clear broth from a Vietnamese Pho restaurant in her neighborhood.
Read more prep tips on the Colorectal Cancer Alliance Colonoscopy Prep Tips page.
A thumbs-up experience
“I was definitely a little bit nervous going in,” Gabler admitted. “But at the end I felt so great. They came out and said, ‘You had no polyps … No problems. You look healthy. Everything is fantastic.’ That made it so worth it to me just to hear that … It made any amount of nerves and prep process totally worth it.”
Sophie Gabler, 28, giving a thumbs up after her colonoscopy.
Her message to others is: “Why not?” Citing rising incidence rates of CRC in younger patients, coupled with the fact that CRC is highly preventable,1 she adds, “The two paths are, one, they don’t find anything ... that’s path A and that’s fabulous. Path B is they find something, and you are able to address it at that time … before it gets worse.”
It’s also nice to feel supported by your employer, she adds. “It’s something that Olympus really believes in, so much so that they’re willing to invest in employees’ health. To me that’s a no-brainer. Why not get it done?”
Brooks Bell is a paid endorser of Olympus Corporation, its subsidiaries, and/or its affiliates.
Read more stories about colorectal cancer awareness and screening.
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References
- Cancer.org Key Statistics for Colorectal Cancer. Accessed October 23, 2025.
- US Preventive Services Task Force; Davidson KW, Barry MJ, Mangione CM, et al. Screening for Colorectal Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2021 May 18;325(19):1965-1977. Erratum in: JAMA. 2021 Aug 24;326(8):773.
