I only had one sign something was amiss - a small amount of bright red blood in my stools, once. No pain, no discomfort. But it alarmed me enough to schedule a colonoscopy, a procedure I hadn't had before. The doc told me not to worry, as it was probably just a hemorrhoid.
Before the procedure, the doctor was cordial and animated. As I was waking up afterward, his composure was totally changed - a sign something was wrong. He told me he found a mass, and scheduled a CT scan for the next day. That scan showed I had stage IV colon cancer, with metastases in my lymph nodes and liver.
Other than that single blood sign, I had no indicator whatsoever of the dire situation. Thankfully, I was admitted to MD Anderson, where I firmly believe I had the best team possible treating me. I have a good amount of collateral damage as a result of the treatment, but remain cancer free. I am grateful to still be here, as several of my friends with similar diagnoses aren't.
I am definitely pro-colonoscopy. The short-term discomfort of the prep is nothing in comparison with 12 rounds of chemo.
I only had one sign something was amiss - a small amount of bright red blood in my stools, once. No pain, no discomfort. But it alarmed me enough to schedule a colonoscopy, a procedure I hadn't had before. The doc told me not to worry, as it was probably just a hemorrhoid.
Before the procedure, the doctor was cordial and animated. As I was waking up afterward, his composure was totally changed - a sign something was wrong. He told me he found a mass, and scheduled a CT scan for the next day. That scan showed I had stage IV colon cancer, with metastases in my lymph nodes and liver.
Other than that single blood sign, I had no indicator whatsoever of the dire situation. Thankfully, I was admitted to MD Anderson, where I firmly believe I had the best team possible treating me. I have a good amount of collateral damage as a result of the treatment, but remain cancer free. I am grateful to still be here, as several of my friends with similar diagnoses aren't.
I am definitely pro-colonoscopy. The short-term discomfort of the prep is nothing in comparison with 12 rounds of chemo.