I had started to suffer with stomach issues, irregular bowel movement and shape of output during COVID. I did not see my doctor as normal. I had some prescriptions called in. Then I started having bloody stools, so right away I went to my doctor who said it was mostly internal hemorrhoids.

I wasn’t given a physical exam, and I was told it would go away. I was given more meds that didn’t help. I called my doctor’s office back, and the nurse recommended the doctor give me an at-home test, which he said was unnecessary.

I had bled through my clothing at work and my HR manager who happened to be walking behind me suggested I go see our nurse partitioner, who gave me an exam, and said I needed to call my doctor back as soon as possible and schedule an exam with him. My doctor decided I needed to see a surgeon. I went to see the surgeon who said I had a small tumor that he could remove the next day. I went in on Dec. 23, 2020, for the procedure. When I woke up after the procedure, I was told the surgeon could not remove it all, but he would biopsy it.

He never spoke with me about what the possibilities were. He sent a text to my friends who drove me to the procedure, and they had to tell me I most likely had cancer. Because it was the holiday season and end of the year, it was over a month before I had the results back. He stuck his head in the door and said, “As I thought — late-stage colorectal cancer. Someone will be in to talk to you.”