I am a mother of 3 and have a high stress career in healthcare. A little blood, loose stools, and a little pain is probably hemorrhoids, right? I am so grateful for the doctor who did my colonoscopy and diagnosed my cancer. He sent me to Duke where I went through 28 radiation treatments, 8 FOLFOX, chemo treatments, and surgery for a permanent ostomy bag. I lost almost a year of my life fighting through treatments and experienced a lot of difficult side effects-like skin burn, extreme cold sensitivity, and now lingering neuropathy. I want to share the difficulties of treatment because of how preventable colorectal cancer is. I don’t want my daughters, or anyone, to go through what I have been through. Awareness is so important to decrease the stigma and increase insurance covered colonoscopies.

Ostomy