Gary Delehanty

Story: In May 2022, I went to the ER with intermittent abdominal pain. After some blood work, they sent me home. A few days later, I returned to the ER after the pain continued, and I began vomiting. This time they completed a CT scan and delivered the news that it was stage IV metastatic colon cancer. It had spread to my liver, lungs, lymph nodes, and adrenal glands. The next day, I had surgery to remove the tumor in my colon and create an ileostomy, so that I could begin treatments right away. At the time, my wife was with me in the ER. The news was a little tough at first because in April 2022 we welcomed our first baby son to the family. So early on, it was a lot of up and down emotions. But having him, my wife, family, and friends all by my side in my fight helps big time. After four treatments, we had another scan done, and there were no signs of anything new, and what exists all seems to be shrinking.

Advice: Don’t be afraid at all. Get checked to be sure everything is OK. If you get bad news, just understand that you can overcome anything and take it all day by day.

Don’t give up! Take the news as just a bump in the road of your life. Take it one day at a time and keep up the mindset of knowing you can beat this.