Chelsea Goodwin

Chelsea's Story

March 3, 2021, was the day my world came to a complete halt. I was 26 at the time and a single mother to my 4-year-old son. I spent a week in the hospital, had an emergency surgery because they had found a softball-size tumor in my colon and lesions on my liver.

I ended up with a colostomy. I started chemotherapy shortly after on March 30. I knew I wanted the best care, so I went and got a second opinion at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. They have given me hope over these past two years. I have since had my colostomy reversed, two liver resections, and just recently in February 2023 tumors removed from my ovaries, along with my ovaries and tubes.

I do chemotherapy and have for the past two years, every other week with breaks only for surgery. Looking back, I had quite a few signs and symptoms. At 26, the last thing on your mind is CANCER. I have done genetic testing and for Lynch syndrome. Colon cancer doesn’t run in my family, and it turned out I don’t have Lynch syndrome.

It is so important to advocate for yourself, or have someone who can advocate for you if you can’t. Start testing early. It has been a hard two years, I’m hoping for remission still.

I have changed my diet completely and am starting chemo back up after my last surgery in February. Right now I am tumor free, so the hope is to do the chemo, get scans, and do blood work until there is no evidence of disease in my blood.

I will never give up and stop fighting.

My son needs me to live and be here for him. I raise awareness and post updates through my cancer page “Chelsea’s Fight Is Our Fight” on Facebook. I hope that maybe someone can look at my story and not feel so alone out there with their diagnosis. Getting diagnosed at any age is devastating but with being so young, and a single mother: It crushed me.

I keep a positive mind and do a lot of therapy. It really helps. Please, never ignore what your body is telling you, there is no price on your health.

Get screened before the recommended age!

Chelsea's Advice

Just get it [colorectal cancer screening] done. It’s easy; it’s quick; and there is no price on your health. Please don’t wait. You deserve a healthy life that is cancer free.

Never give up. Fight for as long as you can. Your life is worth it. Being there for your loved ones is worth it. Even when it feels like you can’t go on because you’re in the midst of it, it’s worth it all. On my chemo days when I just feel so worn out and down and sick and I think I want to give up, I get through it and then it gets better and I think, “that wasn’t so bad, and I can go another round."

Take it day by day. Don’t overwhelm yourself with what the future holds.