My wife Jessica was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer at the very start of 2024. Unfortunately, throughout our journey we had to make a lot of very hard decisions with very little information. There isn't research and data out there. The medical community is also seeing an extreme rise in Colon and Rectal cancers in young people, and no one knows why. There is an urgent need for more information!
Jessica's Colorectal Cancer Story/Background:
"On December 27th, I had a colonoscopy for some honestly pretty vague bowel symptoms that myself and my doctors chalked up to postpartum pelvic floor weakness and likely hemorrhoids. But I had a nagging feeling it was something more and given my family history (my dad died from colon cancer just 3.5 years ago), I advocated for myself and pushed for a colonoscopy. Even going into it though, I’d convinced myself that I was just being a worry-wart and the results would bring peace of mind. But, the opposite happened.
I woke up from the procedure and the doctor told me he’d found a rectal mass that was likely cancer. Pathology came back about a week later, and, sure enough - adenocarcinoma. From that point on, it was a whirlwind of tests and doctors appointments both locally in Kansas City and at Md Anderson in Houston. My imaging wasn’t straightforward. There was dissension on what stage it is - Stage 1 or Stage 3. Somewhat of a judgement call and I’ve relied heavily on the doctors’ expertise.
The team at MD Anderson believed it is lower stage and have recommended surgery for me. I underwent surgery called LAR (low anterior resection) where they removed most of my rectum and part of my lower colon and surrounding lymph nodes, and then put me back together. Part of this surgery performed was to give me temporary ileostomy for healing. Following chemo treatment we will have a follow up surgery to "take down" the ileostomy.
We started chemo following surgery in March. It turns out I'm one of the lucky 5% of people that do not have the enzyme to break down the 5FU chemo (called "DPD deficiency"). This made dosing my chemo difficult and greatly enhanced the negative side effects of chemo.
I underwent 3 months of chemo treatment which ended at the end of June. All current indications and test results currently look positive. So I am scheduled to have my ileostomy 'Take Down' surgery at the end of July.
I wish to live a long life; to spend many many more years with my husband, to see my daughter grow up into a wonderful person, and just to exist in this world and leave it better than I found it.
The medical community is seeing a stark rise in Colon and Rectal cancers in young people, like me, and they don’t have a great explanation - maybe our foods, lifestyle, microplastics? Who knows. Fact is, don’t take your health for granted. Live every day with purpose and joy. Advocate for yourself. Love on your people."
It's been an extremely difficult journey through the dredges of the healthcare system that no one should go through. On top of taking care of a 1 year old and my elderly mother-in-law, we couldn't have been able to go through this without so much love help and support from our family, friends, community, and our colleague at work.
