Meet Janaya

Family Member of a Patient New York, NY

Janaya's Story

My mom is a survivor of colon cancer and small bowel cancer. She was diagnosed with colon cancer July 2014 at 57-years-old. It was her first colonoscopy. She had no symptoms other than frequent trips to the bathroom. She believed it was IBS or diverticulitis. As many people, she never thought it would be cancer but indeed it was. Unfortunately for her, the journey after her diagnosis worsened. The doctors in the area did not have reputations for being thorough or listening to patients. Sadly, she had many more unnecessary complications that I will leave out for the sake of moving into a positive direction. All I will say is a stent was involved, a perforation was found a day late, and emergency surgery was needed. I'll also mention 6 months later she had 5 surgical hernias, to treat they put bio mesh into her abdomen. About a year after that (this time last year) she was having feelings of fullness and could barely eat or drink a sip of water. She went into ER twice in two months and on 3rd time they finally did a CT scan. They found she was obstructed again. Now it was higher up in her small intestines. She went to surgery where they found cancer tucked in and cutting off passage way in her small intestines. She  went to a cancer center about an hour from their home where they decided chemo was the best treatment plan. It seems there is not a targeted chemo treatment yet for small bowel cancer. Small bowel cancer is often not found and rare. So she was given the chemo used for colon cancer and completed treatments this past fall. She keeps up with her PET scans and other treatments. Thankfully so far so good! So proud of her and of all the men and women who under go this fight. Getting your self back on track and feeling well takes a very long time. Lots of patience is needed because having a bowel resection (in her case total bowel removed was well over 2 feet) takes time for bowel to readjust. It is a true struggle to re-learn what your body will let you eat and what it will not. Our guts dictate what we can and can't do some days. My mother's story is well worth sharing with others. More people need to be aware of this cancer. I am 33 and I will have my first colonoscopy before 35. I want to be on top of it! Many others should take colon cancer more seriously. Our gut health is KEY to good health.

Janaya's Advice

At least you are in the fight! Its a blessing it was found and getting treatments. Never give up the simple act of counting blessings even when it seems there are none left to count.