Grace Butler, Ph.D, had done everything right. She exercised regularly, ate healthy meals, and had an annual FOBT test, a sigmoidoscopy, and barium enema exams. But no one told her she needed a colonoscopy – and that oversight led to her diagnosis of stage III colon cancer in 1999.
Butler spoke to Fight Colorectal Cancer recently about the diagnosis that changed her life and how she’s extending hope in the fight against colorectal cancer to Texans without insurance.
Before your diagnosis, how would you describe your life?
I had a wonderfully blessed life before cancer. I am an educator, and I started my career as a band and orchestra teacher in New Orleans. I moved from teaching to administration in higher education. I completed a doctorate at New York University and I earned appointments at several universities.
