Get Your Ass Checked!!

I’m going to tell a little personal story here that I strongly feels need to be heard.

It started in October 2020 when I was getting my certification to be a Health and Life Coach.  I was coaching my clients, mostly on health at the time, and suggesting that they start by going to the Dr for a complete physical.  Time gets away on us, and often times it can be years since our last complete physical.  I had a thought that I ought to practice what I preach, so I booked my appointment, and I went.  When the Dr asked, “When was the last time you had a colonoscopy, Lisa?” I responded as I’m sure most do, with a  wrinkled-up nose and a “Really? Do I have to?” look on my face, and asked if I could just do the “FIT” instead.  You know, it’s where you just test your poop and send it in.  He said yes.  I did it.  After a week or two, I got a call from the Dr saying it was atypical and there was blood in my stool.  Nope, you can not see it with the naked eye and Yup, you should look at  your poop.  The next step was to book the colonoscopy, and they were quick about it.  January 11 was the date and all I had to do was the necessary dietary things, no small nuts and seeds and don’t eat beets…and drink a huge 1 L jug of the “better when it’s cold” stuff.  Then you stay home and close to the bathroom.  Seriously, the prep for the colonoscopy is the least comfortable part of doing this test. A test that can, by the way, save your life.  They sedate you for the test and you seriously rarely ever remember the event of having it done.  If you remember anything, it’s usually kinda foggy.  I do remember the nurse telling me about and showing me the tiny little polyp that was removed.  It was less than 1 cm in diameter and likely nothing to worry about.  Of course I came home and Googled that…less than a 2% chance of it being cancer when it’s so small and there was only one.  I got the call on January 18, 2021.  “Something showed up in the pathology Lisa, can you come to see the Dr in 20 minutes?”  It’s never a phone call you want to get!!  I drove as safely as I could with a mind that was swimming around the very likely possibility that I was getting the worse possible news.  It would have been John’s 65th birthday that day, so I just held onto that being a “sign” that I would get through whatever I was about to hear and that there was no way in hell I would leave my kids orphaned in their 30’s.  When I got to the Dr, I got the news that there was, in fact, cancer in the polyp that was removed and I would be hearing from a surgeon in the near future.  Stop eating red meat and processed food, but no mention of limiting or stopping wine.  One might think whew on the wine but…studies show that’s a pretty big factor too. I got the phone call from the surgeons office pretty quickly.  I was scheduled to have a bowel resection on March 3, and I was terrified about how that would all go, but I put on a brave face for my kids.  I’m pretty sure they were terrified too after losing their dad to cancer 5 years earlier.  I kinda refused to believe I actually had cancer and I was certainly grateful that it was found early.

The surgery was successful and they removed 22 cm (9″) of my lower bowel as well as 4 lymph nodes from behind it.  The pathology came back negative for any more cancer in my bowel but one of the 4 lymph nodes showed cancer cells.  Chemo was the next step.   I had barely completed the 6-week recovery time at home before the chemo treatments started.  That almost killed me over the course of 3 months.  I had the first infusion on April 12 and thought it was going to be a breeze because I felt pretty great.  I had to do an infusion every three weeks and take pills in between with a week off of everything. I thought that everything was going well and went on a little weekend trip with a dear friend to Canmore.  Well, that was May 19 and on the morning of the 20th I could hardly get out of bed.  We came back to Red Deer first thing on the 21st and it was all downhill from there.  I lost 25 lbs in 2 weeks and thought I was going to die. I have a picture to remind myself now why it’s okay to carry a little extra weight. I discontinued the chemo and continued to see a naturopath for Vitamin C infusions. The Dr thought that due to my severe reaction to the chemo that the little amount of cancer that was found in my lymph node had likely/hopefully taken a hike.

Eight months later, in March of 2022, I had a follow-up colonoscopy and was cancer free.  I continue to go for blood work at the cancer centre every three months and still have to go for another CT scan in the fall.  I wait with baited breath every time I have to do either of those things, but I am so very grateful that it’s been good so far.  Another reason to live my life to the fullest and be grateful for all the good people and love I have in my life.

In closing, I really want to stress again the importance of this test.  There doesn’t have to be colon cancer in your family. You can think you are healthy and feel great, just like I did.  It can seriously save your life!  Colon cancer is one of the most treatable of all cancers and early detection is key!!!  Please….go get your ass checked!!