Survivor Story: Deb C.

Name: Deb C.

How were you diagnosed?

I was 56 years old and had put off getting my annual exams for at least 7 years because I had gained a lot of weight and was embarrassed to go to the doctor. 

One day, I noticed bright red blood in the toilet after going to the bathroom. I had no pain, so I was totally surprised to see the blood, and I decided that I would just kind of keep an eye on it. There was a little blood in the toilet the next day, but after that, there was none. I figured that maybe I had a hemorrhoid, even though I had no pain, and so I just kind of let it go. 

A few weeks later, my husband and grandson were sick and were going in to see the doctor for bronchitis. I asked my husband to ask the doctor for a hemoccult test kit, which the doctor gave to him. Since that's not a pleasant procedure, I let the test kit sit there for a few weeks, until one day I just decided to do it and sent the sample in. 

A few days later, my doctor's office called and said I needed to come in right away.  I had large amounts of blood in my stool sample, even though I could not actually see any blood in it. The doctor ordered some blood tests because he said the amount of blood in the stool was enough to make him wonder if I was anemic. 

Long story short, I ended up having a colonoscopy (my first one) and I had a malignant polyp about the size of a golf ball in my colon. I believe the cancer was staged at 2A. It had not penetrated the colon wall but was very close to doing so. I ended up having a resection and underwent a 6 month regimen of chemotherapy and another drug called Avastan. 

As of November, 2020, I am ten years cancer free! Had I not seen the blood in the toilet that day, I undoubtedly would not have found out I had cancer until it might have been too late. I am so thankful and blessed to have been diagnosed at the stage I was.

What would you tell others about getting screened?

DO NOT avoid going in for annual check-ups because of weight gain or any other reason. Had I gone in when I was 50, I know that my doctor would have scheduled me for a colonoscopy. All my surgery and cancer treatments may have been avoided. 

I had absolutely NO PAIN or any symptoms other than a day or so of blood in the toilet. I could not even see it in my stools, so don't depend on your own eyes to detect it. 

The preparation for a colonoscopy isn't the most pleasant thing, but it is doable and short-lived. I have always been put under a general anesthesia for the actual procedure and have never had any pain during or after the colonoscopy.

Why do you fight back against colon cancer?

My family has a long history with cancer, and my father died of cancer when he was 36. It wasn't colon cancer, but colon cancer is treatable IF DETECTED EARLY.  Hearing the words "you have cancer" is one of the most terrifying things I have ever heard, and if I can help prevent one person from having to hear those words, it's worth it.

Any other information?

I just want to encourage EVERYONE to check with their doctor to see when he/she recommends their first colonoscopy. It depends on family history, etc. A colonoscopy is a walk in the park compared to having to go through cancer.