It's a Team's Life

Colon Cancer

So, we are going to cover that dirty word “Cancer” in this blog.  Everyone probably knows someone or knows someone that knows someone that has had cancer.  Most families have lost a loved one to cancer.  It is a tough subject to talk about and even comprehend why do we get cancer.

For us, Sandy was diagnosed in June of 2014 that she had Colon Cancer.  We had been in expediting less than two years.  Stephen was running our truck and she was still in her computer job.  She went to the emergency room with pain early in the morning and at five pm she was in surgery having a part of her large intestine removed.  Then she went through six month of chemo every other week.  It sure was a learning experience for the both of us.  In 2020 Sandy was considered cancer free.

While this was going on Sandy’s mother was being treated for breast cancer.  We lost her in Aug of 2015 to breast cancer.  Sandy was done with here chemo treatments when she passed away.

Colon cancer technically known as Colorectal cancer (CRC) or bowl or rectal.  It develops in the large intestine.  The most common symptoms of CRC could be blood in the stool, change in bowl movements, weight loss and fatigue.  The way to find out and diagnose this cancer is having a colonoscopy performed where a sample of the colon is collected and tested.  It is recommended to start having colonoscopy done starting at age 45 unless if you have a family history of CRC than one should start at an earlier age (this should be discussed with your doctor when you should start).

Treatments for CRC can include in combination of surgery, targeted therapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy.  Survival rates from CRC in 2017 was 65% after 5 years from treatment.  There were 1.09 million new cases in 2018 and 551,000 deaths from CRC. CRC is more common in developed countries, where more than 65% of cases are found.  CRC is less common in women than men.

So, we highly recommend everyone reading this over the age of 45 talk to your primary care doctor on if you need to get a colonoscopy.

If, you see our truck and look at the ribbons we have on our barn doors.  The one on the left if for Sandy "colon cancer survivor on board".  The one on the right pays tribute to Sandy's mother Fran.

 

Sandy & Stephen

Let’s Roll We’re Burning Daylight - “Wil Anderson” (The Cowboys) John Wayne