In 2020, I became sick and was very tired, weak, and dizzy. I promised a family member I’d get a physical. During the doctor’s visit, my doctor recommended a colonoscopy based on my age.
When I woke up from my procedure, I was told that they had found a mass in my cecum, and they would send it out for biopsy. Two days later, on December 4, at the age of 51, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I felt the floor fall out from beneath me when the doctor gave me the news that I never thought I’d hear. I immediately called my husband and then my twin sister and proceeded to cry inconsolably.
On December 17th, and without anyone with me due to restrictions at the time, I had a right hemicolectomy, and several inches of my ascending colon, 30 lymph nodes, an 11-centimeter tumor, my appendix, and my cecum were removed. I stayed in a hospital in Santa Monica for five days solo while I recovered.
The tumor was biopsied and revealed Stage IIA cancer as well as the Chek2 genetic mutation, which also makes me at higher risk for breast cancer. The staging didn’t require me to receive chemotherapy or radiation. Still, because of it, I continue to be monitored regularly with quarterly Signatera bloodwork, annual CT scans, and colonoscopies, as well as bi-annual breast MRIs and 3D imaging.
Today, I feel great and am incredibly thankful for the doctors and medicine that continue to look after me. I have motivated countless people to check their colon. I’m always raising awareness and advocating for colonoscopies. They get a bad rap, but my first colonoscopy saved my life. I also promise you that they are far easier than the mental gymnastics that come with a cancer diagnosis.
