Amy Jensen

Diagnosed Stage III Rectal Cancer on 9/24/2020 after colonoscopy.
Prior to my diagnosis I was an active person who loved to run and was currently working on the goal of completing some sort of race in every state. I also loved to travel with my husband; recently cruises, to the Caribbean and we visited England and France which was a bucket list trip for me. I was pursuing a job promotion at work; however, that all came to a screeching halt when I went to the restroom and had a bowel movement that was straight clots of blood.

I immediately knew something was wrong. I scheduled an appointment with a colorectal specialist/surgeon a few days later and after an office visit, he diagnosed me with an external thrombosed hemorrhoid. He told me to go home and drink more water and eat more fiber. I inquired about a colonoscopy but he said, 'I was young and that my insurance might not pay for it'. I felt alone and unheard at this appointment especially since it was during COVID, so protocols did not allow family in the doctor's office.

Three days later, I had the same 'murder crime scene' in my toilet and went back, he was still reluctant but ultimately, I was scheduled for a colonoscopy a few weeks later. When I woke up from the colonoscopy (with my husband) the doctor used language I didn't understand 'he kept saying he found a lesion' and looked like he had seen a ghost. That was on a Friday, and it was on the following Monday when the hospital nurse called me, she told me over the phone I had Rectal Cancer, and the hospital needed to schedule a bunch of appointments to determine what stage it was as soon as possible. I was terrified and in shock when I hung the phone up. My husband was napping at the time of the call, and I didn't tell him until he woke up several hours later. So, I sat alone in fear until we spoke.