The GI physician additionally thought it was most likely nothing to be apprehensive about and scheduled a colonoscopy. He mentioned it wasn’t possible I had any tumors, however it additionally wasn’t out of the query—many youthful individuals had been being recognized with colon most cancers, so it was nice I wished to seek out solutions, he advised me. Going into the colonoscopy, he, like my PCP, figured my signs had been as a consequence of hemorrhoids. All of my blood work, together with my purple and white blood counts, got here again regular. (Generally, a low purple blood cell rely, which may happen from a bleeding tumor, is among the earliest indicators of colon most cancers.)

A month later, I had the colonoscopy. The nurses and medical doctors had been in a terrific temper after I checked into the clinic. A nurse mentioned, “You’re so younger! Why are you right here?” and I believed, “Oh my god, she simply jinxed me. Now I completely have most cancers.” I used to be sedated for the process, and after I awoke, the physician advised me they discovered a giant tumor and had taken a biopsy to find out if it was malignant. I used to be out of it from the anesthesia, however tried to soak all of it in. To be trustworthy, I’d had an inkling it could be critical—I even advised my coworkers a pair days earlier than my colonoscopy that I believed I had most cancers, they usually had been like, “There’s no means.”

Three days later, my physician known as: I had adenocarcinoma. I used to be shocked, although I suspected one thing deep down. The following steps had been laid out: I wanted to make an appointment with a colorectal surgeon and do diagnostic testing—together with CT most cancers staging and an MRI—to see how superior the most cancers was with the intention to inform my therapy plan.

Every little thing began to maneuver shortly. The imaging assessments confirmed that the most cancers was localized to my colon and hadn’t unfold to different elements of my physique. I had stage 2 colorectal most cancers and must do chemotherapy, radiation, and get surgical procedure to get rid of all the most cancers from my colon.

There was a lot I needed to do, and I used to be completely overwhelmed. My mother inspired me to take issues one step at a time, which helped me keep calm. As a substitute of taking a look at all the medication, scans, assessments, and procedures on my plate, I targeted on a single aim, like my upcoming surgical procedure, and easily getting via that.

At the beginning of 2020, I began oral chemo by taking a drug known as capecitabine each day, and I did radiation therapy 5 days per week for a number of months to shrink the scale of the tumor earlier than having surgical procedure to take away it. That means, the surgeons wouldn’t have to chop out fairly as a lot colon.

After I accomplished these therapies in March of that yr, I had a low anterior resection, a surgical procedure to take away the portion of my colon containing most cancers, and an ileoscopy, a process the place your small gut is redirected out via your abdomen right into a bag. It is a short-term answer after a colon resection—it’s performed so poop doesn’t cross via your colon, the place there’s a contemporary wound that would change into contaminated that means. As a substitute, the waste is rerouted and launched via a colostomy bag hooked up to the skin of your abdomen. That complete expertise was a mindfuck, however on the similar time, I used to be stoked I acquired via the large surgical procedure and was within the clear.