Angela Thompson

Story: "After delivering a healthy baby on May 27, 2016, I began to get sick, lost weight, experienced loose stools. I was 38 years old.  An abdominal mass was confirmed by an ultrasound. After receiving a CT I learned I had mucinous adenocarcinoma on August 19, 2016. I needed to have Hipec surgery but due to my insurance (Medicaid), I was unable to receive the surgery. I waited about a month until I began to vomit fecal matter. My mother, God bless her, rushed me to the hospital.

"In the operating room, my life changed forever. I lost my entire transverse colon and a majority of my stomach. Due to cancer invading my stomach. Also, I lost my gallbladder and appendix, which was a difficult recovery, but I still pushed my way through it. I was determined to fight! I was not able to pick up my newborn child, I was so sick during the beginning of his life. The thought of him and my other two children fired up my will to fight. Although all the cancer has been removed, and PET scans have been clear,  I am still doing chemo.

"I've lost my dad, my two uncles, my aunt, and my grandparents to colon cancer. Just a few short months after my diagnosis my 34-year-old cousin was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer with Mets to the liver. We are very strong-willed and this cancer will not take us out. We have to fight and fight hard."

Advice: "Keep your head up. Although our lives are forever changed, never let that stop you from fighting. Even when you wanna give up."