He was the kind of dad that was always there, even as a teenager, when I wanted to just be with my friends, I still knew he was always there for me.  He took the family traveling, taught my sister and I how to give, was an amazing listener, and seemed to just know about everything.

He owned his own business in heating and cooling called Temperature Control, where he loved helping people and figuring out problems.

My dad was a handy man; he enjoyed doing projects, around the house, or for others.  He had quite a sense of humor, that some understood, but others didn’t, sometimes I didn’t even get all his jokes!  He liked watching football and would get really in to it.  We had recently got a cabin, and he really liked hanging out there and doing projects.  He really liked dancing with my mom to oldies and with my sister and I.

He was a great breakfast maker; he made wonderful pancakes in fun shapes.  He could fix anything around the house; I never even knew that other dads hired people to fix things.  He had the talent of being able to speak to anyone about anything and often did.  He also took very good care of his roses.  He was the block leader and tried to continue to keep the neighborhood safe.  He also always grilled the sweet corn at the block parties-like from the State Fair.

He loved his family so much.  He would always much rather go shopping for dresses and makeup then go golfing, fishing etc. as long as he was with us. He was my one and only awesome dad.  He wasn’t a saint, but I know he’s an angel now. He just tried to make the best out of any situation, all the way till the end.

About the time I started seeing blood in my stool, my daughter was in the midst of a difficult second pregnancy and was likely to deliver very early. I called my doctor, but said I suspected the blood was caused by all the stress our family was under.  Besides, I had had a colonoscopy three years earlier that was fine. She said, just to be safe, I should make an appointment for a colonoscopy. When I called, their schedule was full, but they said they would let me know as soon as there was a cancellation, which is apparently, and sadly, quite often.

Shortly after that, my daughter gave birth, at 26 weeks, to a little boy (2 lbs. 4 oz.).  Whether there was a message regarding an opening, and I just missed it, I’ll never know, but it never entered my head again for the next six months.  Baby Liam spent three months in the NICU and my husband and I visited nearly every day.  When Liam finally came home I moved in with my daughter and her family for three months to help with his intensive care.

After I got moved back to my home, I sort of thought, “Oh, yes, I was supposed to have a colonoscopy!” The procedure took place two days before Thanksgiving, 2008.  When the doctor came into the recovery room and told my husband and me that he’d found “something” and even if it weren’t malignant, it would have to come out, I being still half out of it ask it if it would be day surgery.  Ha!

Ten days later, I had a bowel resection and 12″ of my colon were removed, because a large fibroid in my uterus (that I never knew I had) was blocking the surgeon’s view. I also had a complete hysterectomy.  A two for one!

After a week in the hospital, I home knowing everything had gone well and my lymph nodes were clear, but I didn’t find out for six weeks that I wouldn’t have to have chemo.  That was a very happy day.

I had to be careful about my diet for many months afterwards.  About six months after surgery I had a bowel obstruction and narrowly missed having to have another surgery.  For several months after that I didn’t eat many of my favorite foods beans, leafy salads basically things that might clog the plumbing. As a result, I have been more consistent in my keeping my diet “clean.”  I find sticking to my exercise routine easier because I heard so many times that my recovery was faster because I was in good shape.

I was very afraid, when I realized that I had put cancer on the “back burner” for six months, that I had lessened my chance for a good outcome. Almost five years later, I’ve had two colonoscopies, and continue to have blood work every six months, and so far, so good and most importantly, our sweet Liam is doing great!

I say a little thank you to Katie Couric and Dr. Oz who have done so much to raise awareness about colon cancer and, just as importantly, in talking publicly, have given us language to use when we have to broach the subject with our doctors.  These symptoms are not as easy to discuss as a pain in your back, or even a lump in your breast, but, for the sake of your family, if something’s not right, swallow your embarrassment and get thee to thy physician!!

Excerpt from the article:

Looking back at his initial decision to have a colonoscopy, Delaune said, “I had no symptoms. This was a purely routine colonoscopy.”

He’s learned, he said, that “it’s incumbent on patients themselves to know their family history.”

To promote prevention and early detection of colon cancer, the Get Your Rear in Gear Baton Rouge organization will hold its third annual 5K Run/Walk & Kids’ Fun Run on Saturday. Registration begins at 7 a.m. at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Read the full article on The Advocate‘s website.

Excerpt from the article:

Pereira cited three “primary barriers” that people confront when committing to a colonoscopy: the preparation, the exam and the sedation.

Anne Carlson, executive director of the Colon Cancer Coalition, listed three slightly different barriers. “People are scared of the prep. They’re scared of the cost. And honestly, they’re scared of having cancer.”

Being scared of the disease, of course, is a good reason to get a colonoscopy. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and these screenings can reduce colon cancer by two-thirds, Brosam said. The five-year survival rate is 67 to 74 percent for stage I, IIA and IIIA, according to the American Cancer Society.

Still, less than 40 percent of Americans with health insurance are getting screened, Carlson said.

Read the entire article at StarTribune.com.

The article also contained many sidebars, including:

• Colorectal Cancer: By the Numbers
• Get Your Rear in Gear – Twin Cities event info
• Colonoscopy Tips
• What People Crave after Colonoscopies

Q. I am 34 years old, diagnosed with Stage IIIc colon cancer in December 2012. I tested negative for Lynch Syndrome when I was first diagnosed. On my father’s side I do not know of any cancer at all other than skin cancer. On my mother’s side my second cousin was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer and died at 50 and my great uncle was diagnosed at 40 and later died of colon cancer when it returned. Both of these family members are on my mother’s maternal side. I am wondering if there is a genetic disorder that would link possibly link the three of us. I am also curious because for my age, I seem to form a lot of polyps and nodules… I have had cervical polyps removed and I had a 4 cm benign thyroid nodule removed a year and a half ago. Maybe I am reaching here, in trying to find an answer, maybe I am just one of those people that it “happens to” but I would really like to find out for my children if I am passing something along to them.

From Barb Kunz, MS, CGC, Cancer Genetic Counselor:

A. I think you have a good question about your family history and whether there could be some other inherited factor present in the family to explain the pattern of three relatives who have had colon cancer. The field of genetic testing is changing rapidly right now. There are new tests available that can look at many genes at the same time that are linked to a specific type of cancer. For example, the University of Washington has a clinical test called ColoSeq that looks at many genes linked with inherited colon cancer conditions. A test like this may be appropriate to consider for you, but more details need to be collected to provide appropriate counseling and care.

A visit with a cancer genetic counselor would be a good place to start to explore this. You would meet for counseling, called a cancer risk assessment. A counselor would review details of the cancer, and type and number of colon polyps you and other relatives have had and a genetic counselor can also consider inherited conditions that might include non-cancerous findings, such as thyroid nodules. If you did not see a genetic counselor for the Lynch Syndrome testing, then I would recommend that you meet with one now. A counselor can provide you with pre- and post-test counseling, and coordinate testing, if chosen.

To find a genetic counselor near you check out the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

More about Barbara Kunz:

Barbara Kunz is a genetic counselor, with 29 years of experience in a wide range of hospital and clinic settings, in New York, Ohio and Minnesota. She completed her BA degree in Biology and Psychology through Indiana University in 1981. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, with a MS in Human Genetics, in 1984. She earned her certification in 1987 through the American Board of Medical Genetics. For the last 14 years, she has focused her skills on the field of Cancer Genetics, through the Humphrey Cancer Genetics Program. Barbara has a strong interest in providing public and professional genetic education and has been a featured speaker at many events. She is the past chair of the Minnesota Genetic Counselors Association. She is the mother of three daughters.

No one in our family has ever had cancer, much less colon cancer.  I had never been sick a day in my life until February of 2012, at which time we were vacationing in Mexico, and I got some crazy “stomach virus” one night, that I thought I had gotten from something I had ate that night.  I was better the next day, but each day after that it seemed that things were just not right.

I went to the doctor about three weeks later and told him that I knew I was fine, but that my cousin had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, and her only symptom was pain in her side.  I told him that “I felt like I had a pulled muscle in my side, but I had not done anything to pull the muscles.”  Of course, I knew that everything was fine.  I was healthy!”   I was so sad about my cousin.  I really thought “Why am I going to the doctor?”  I really don’t know when I would have finally gone to the doctor, had it not been for her.

The doctor ran a blood test, and told me that my blood count was extremely low – - about like a car running on only half the required oil.  A gastrographen x-ray showed a large apple core size tumor.  My doctor called within about 10 minutes after the test was completed from his cell phone – it hit me when I heard his voice that things were serious.

The following day a colonoscopy was done to biopsy the tumor and know where we stood.  Because of the size of the tumor, and the almost complete blockage, surgery was scheduled for the next week.

A left hemicolectomy was done, with removal of a tube, ovary and wedge from my liver.  Twenty lymph nodes were removed, with 15 being positive.  The tumor was the size of a tennis ball, and had attached to the muscle in my side (causing the sensation of a pulled muscle in my side).  I started chemo on May 1, with 12 rounds ending in October.  Scans done in January 2013, three months after finishing chemo, show more positive lymph nodes in the chest and around the abdominal aorta.  I started back on chemo two weeks ago, to do six rounds this time.

Everything was happening so fast in the beginning, but I felt compelled to meet my oncologist before my surgery.  I didn’t want some doctor to come into see me, that I was going to have for the rest of my life, and me not meet him beforehand.  I was determined that we had to be on the same page about my future treatment and my expectations.  I knew that whoever walked in my room would be my forever friend, so I had to like them.  The afternoon before my surgery, we made some phone calls and this doctor that I was interested in seeing agreed to stay late to see me.  I walked in and told him that I wanted him to see me as the vibrant person that I truly was, not some sick person that had just had major surgery – not a true picture of who I am.  I told him that I needed 40 more years, and that if he didn’t think we could accomplish that or at least try until all efforts had been exhausted, then I needed to continue my search.  From that moment on I knew I was in the right place.  I love him, his nurses, his chemo nurses and everyone at the office. His office is next door to the hospital that I work at, and almost every day you can see me at his office stopping by to see patients in the chemo room that I either know from my hometown or people that I have met on this journey!  Sometimes I don’t know who gets more of a blessing out of my visits, the people that I am going to see or me!

The thing that I want people to know is that if you have a doctor that you don’t feel comfortable with, you are not stuck with them.  Go find another doctor – it is your health, and you must be proactive.  I had a colonoscopy about eight years before my journey, and I did not like the physician. I think that is why it took me so long to seek treatment this time.  I did find a different GI doctor, which I also love.  He in turn led me to my surgeon, who I adore.  I know I have been blessed with THE BEST!    My advice is for you to continue to search until you find the right doctors, because you will basically be married to them for the rest of your life!

The love and support that I have been shown during my illness has been unbelievable.  I could never have imagined how my friends, family and co-workers would rally around me.  I have an aunt that is 80, and she would meet me at chemo, just to sit and talk.  My friends took turns staying with me in the hospital, and then sitting with me at chemo.  Between the surgery and when chemo started, my friends gave me a huge party – 50 year old Birthday Party / Time to get Healthy Party.  My daughter made the cake that had a zebra striped bra on it and said “Penne’s 50, let’s give her some support”.  That was probably the best night of my life – surrounded by family and friends, celebrating the start to good health.

I am probably the happiest person you could ever meet, but occasionally I am sad.  I will be fine no matter what.  I just hope I have taught my children everything they need to know.  I hope I can leave them with happy thoughts, and good memories of the wonderful life we have shared.

My words of wisdom to others would be to keep a diary.  I wrote every day of the feelings I was having, the friend’s calls and visits, the cards I received, etc.  I now read my diary from time to time, and I cannot believe the strength I had.  I hope my children can read my diary someday, and it gives them a little piece of me to hold on to.

I was able to return to work quickly and that was probably one of the best things that could have happened for me.  My surgeon knew me, and knew that being around people would be the best medicine for me, so he allowed me to return to work, quicker than usual.  I continued to work during the chemo.  There were days that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other, but I was not a quitter, and I refused to let the illness slow me down.

It will be a year ago on  March 20, 2013, when this journey began.  By the Grace of God, and the support of the people that he put in my life, I am more alive than I have ever been. My hope is that I can bring awareness to this disease, and if one person can be diagnosed earlier because of me, it will be worth it all.

This disease saved me and for that I am thankful!!

At the Chicago 5K Run/Walk this fall, Washilewski and McGrath made a donation to the Adventist Cancer Institute. The grant will be used to support treatment and education of colon cancer patients and cover the cost of a nurse navigator and educational materials.

In January, MySuburbanLife.com in Chicago’s western suburbs wrote a story about the race and the donation to the Institute. The story outlines the history of the Get Your Rear in Gear event in Chicago, as well as the importance of colon cancer screening and education efforts for the area.

Congratulations to Candice and Patti on the difference you are making in your community!

Clarissa Moholick, associate director of oncology administrative services with Adventist Cancer Institute, accepts a check from Get Your Rear in Gear event chairwomen Candice Washilewski and Patti McGrath.

CareFirst is the Southern Tier’s primary source for excellent care, support and knowledge that enable individuals to cope with serious illness. Early intervention is the key to increased quality of life for people living with serious illness. Through palliative care, patients and families are educated on navigating the many decisions and services that come with a serious illness such as colon cancer. A check presentation was held on February 25, 2013 at the CareFirst satellite office in Elmira.

Pictured from left, CareFirst social worker Stacey Jerzak, LMSW; CareFirst Palliative Care nurse Kate Hembrooke, RN; Get Your Rear In Gear event coordinator Donna Marrone; CareFirst CEO Mary Ann Starbuck; Colon Cancer Coalition champion Lori Spallone pose for a picture during the check presentation.

There is a history of cancer in my family. My mother died at 56 of ovarian cancer and my grandmother died of Breast cancer. I had blood in my stool, irregular bowel movements, and weight loss before a colonoscopy determined I had Stage IIIc upper third rectal cancer.

I was as low as low can go. I was officer of the year in May of 2009 and was fired by the State of Michigan less than a year later, after 24.5 years or service because the state doctors would not clear me to return to work. They denied my retirement and we filed for bankruptcy.  Soon after, my wife filed for divorce and I lost all my possessions and children. That was a very difficult time in my life. Now, I volunteer my time to the American Cancer Society Relay For Life as a committee member and I volunteer several hours a day at our town’s new hospice house and I enjoy helping families and friends anyway I can.

Being diagnosed with cancer was hard on me, but also very hard on my family, due to the loss of my mother and grandmother. Six months prior to my diagnosis one of my best friends and co-worker of 18 years was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. We did chemo together; sadly he lost his battle a year and a half ago.

Since my diagnosis I’ve changed my diet and now I eat well, lots of chicken and fish, with not much red meat. I eat tons of vegetables and fruits and limit my sugar intake.

My advice for others is don’t listen to survival rates or percentages of living to the five year mark, listen to your body. Be positive, have your faith and surround yourself with good people. Tell your family and friends that you love them as much as possible. “This is only a setback to a great comeback”

In the fall of 2005, I went back to work I also noticed a change in my bowel movements, not a topic most people like to discuss.  For every symptom I had, I could put a reasonable explanation with it:  out of breath, fast heart rate – out of shape; throat tightening up – cool air and fast walking; tired – mother of three kids; change in bowel habit – drinking coffee all the time, coffee always worked as a laxative for me.  So I really had no reason to be concerned. Until, well, one day I noticed blood in my stool, still I didn’t pay too much attention to it, reasoned it to be hemorrhoids.  Later on in the fall I developed a bad cold and went to see my primary doctor, Dr. Robert Pennington, and told him of my other symptoms in an “oh by the way” context.  Well, he didn’t like what he heard and scheduled some tests for me.  He did blood work, which showed that I was very anemic, as well as, had me do a stress test to ensure that there was nothing wrong with my heart.

He scheduled me for a colonoscopy to investigate the blood in my stool.  With insurance companies being what they are today, I almost didn’t have the colonoscopy because insurance wouldn’t pay for it since I was not 50 years old.  Needless to say I didn’t feel I could spend several hundred dollars for the test, especially at the holidays.  The doctor I was referred to performed the procedures in a local hospital so the cost would be fairly substantial.  Not only would I have had the doctor’s bill, but also a fee from the hospital for use of space, and if anything had been found and removed, that would have added up as well.  I just didn’t feel that I really needed to proceed at the time and would wait until the beginning of the New Year, especially since we pay our own health insurance and have a $2500 deductible in order to keep monthly premiums low.  Insurance told me they would only pay 80% after putting out $2500 to start with.  So, during one of my many calls to the insurance company, trying to convince them to pay, a young man told me of three local doctors who would do them in their offices for the cost of specialist visit co-pay $35.

On Tuesday, January 31, 2006, I had a consultation with the doctor who would perform the colonoscopy.  After talking with him for a bit and giving him some background information he came to the conclusion that I really had nothing to worry about, and that most likely it would be a really bad case of hemorrhoids.  The morning of Thursday, February 2, 2006, I had the procedure – I was totally out, now I think it was a very good thing.  When I came to, the first thing I remember was the doctor telling me I had an appointment the next morning with an Oncology Surgeon at UNC Hospital at 8:00am.  Now, you have to realize that I was quite surprised, because I was expecting to just walk out with a prescription of extra-strength Preparation-H.  My dad took me this morning, he can wait patiently anywhere, so the doctor told me he needed to speak to my husband, I said just tell us what he needs to know and we will tell him.  He would not do that so he called Greg on his cell phone.   He had just taken our three year old to lunch and was pulling out of Chik-fil-A when the call came through.

Now you have to understand that if Greg doesn’t know the phone number showing up, he will not answer the phone, plus given the time of day, it should have been either my cell number or my dad’s.  It must have been the hand of God guiding Greg to answer the phone.  As he did so, the doctor introduced himself as the doctor who had just performed the procedure on his wife, Greg thought to himself, he’s not calling to tell me her pipes were clean.  He proceeded to tell him what he had found and what the next steps would be.  He doesn’t remember the drive to our house 15 minutes down the road.  When he got off the phone, he left me a voicemail, you could tell he was crying and he told me we would get through this together.

I was then sent down the road to schedule an appointment for a CT scan for the next week.  However, only by the grace of God, I convinced them to go ahead and do it that afternoon.  So I was then able to take a CD of the images with me when I went to see the surgeon the next day.

On Friday, February 3, 2006, I arrived at UNC Hospital’s Cancer Clinic in the Gravely Building.  I had been holding up ok until they called my name to go back and then I broke down.  I will never forget the nurse with me that day putting her arms around me and telling me they would take good care of me.  Dr. Michael Meyers was my appointed surgeon, very nice guy.  We spoke of the options that were before us and then what the best course of action would be.  One of our concerns was being based at UNC which is a good 30-45 minutes from our house or trying to get into Duke which is only 15 minutes from the house.  The downside of trying to get in at Duke would have been the wait.  I could have waited for weeks to get in there whereas I already had my surgery scheduled for 11 days later.  I finally said that because I had been treated so well at UNC and, that if it was anywhere else we wanted to drive to we would, that was where I wanted to stay.  So, we scheduled the surgery for Valentine’s Day, 2006, only 11 days later.

By the time I left that afternoon, I had all the pre-op taken care of and I didn’t have to return until the morning of the surgery.  While we were consulting with the surgeon, I asked him if he could go ahead and do a tummy tuck.  He just looked at me and laughed.  I guess it was my way of dealing with what was about to happen in my life.

Well, its Tuesday, February 14, 2006, surgery day.  The morning came early; I had to be at the hospital at 6:00am for prep.  Things went really well, almost scary good.  They had told my husband and parents that it should take about five hours but they were done in just over three.  Dr. Meyers removed roughly 12 inches of my colon and was able to reattach the ends.  I had 15 lymph nodes removed, and of those 15, three were cancerous.

A couple of days later, Dr. Meyers came in to give us the details of the staging of my cancer – Stage III.  According to protocol, Stage III requires chemotherapy treatment.  So as you may have guessed, one of our first questions was whether or not I would lose my hair.  He said that with the regiment of drugs there would NOT be a great deal of hair loss.  I told him if I did it would be okay, I would just shave my head to look like my husbands and then I would get those temporary tattoos that kids have and just cover my head. I also fussed at him for messing up my bikini line in case I ever got the nerve to wear a two-piece swimsuit again in this lifetime.  He just looked at me and said he was glad to see I could have sense of humor and he felt that I would be okay after that conversation.

Thursday, March 31st, 2006, was my first of day of chemotherapy treatment. My husband went with me.  Prior to going to infusion, I had to go to the hospital to have a port put in place.  The port is designed for easy access to your veins.  My port was implanted in the upper right side of my chest, other than the initial tenderness; I had no trouble with it at all.  Upon arrival to the Infusion floor, I was greeted by some very nice nurses who took all my vitals, as well as, several vials of blood.  I was then sat down in a chair and poked for the first time.  I was initially given fluids while waiting for the chemo drugs to be ordered and brought up, they are mixed up on an as needed basis for each patient, not just kept on a shelf as you would expect.  My chemotherapy regime consisted of three drugs:  Oxaliplatin, Leukovorin, and 5FU.  In addition to these, I would receive a dose of anti-nausea drugs and an antihistamine.  A typical day in infusion would last about 4-5 hours, depending on how busy they were.  Let me take a moment to describe the setting for you.  There is one main infusion room with about 20 recliners along the walls.  Each chair has an IV pole and table next to it; every other chair has a blood pressure monitor next to it.

During the time the pump was attached I couldn’t shower.  Now before you start to think I must have really begun to stink by Saturday, I could take a bath, just couldn’t get the needle area or the tubing to the pump wet.  However, once 12:00pm or 1:00pm came around on Saturdays, there was no doubt where you could find me – taking a long hot shower.  It’s amazing how little things like that you take for granted.

This routine continued for a total of 12 treatments.  As I said earlier Greg went with me for my first treatment and then other family went the next three.  After that I decided I wanted to go on my own.  I felt that if someone was with me, I needed to sit there and “entertain” them and that was not what I wanted to do.  Instead, I would cat nap, sometimes I would have conversations with other patients.  Over time you began to look out for people on the same schedule you were on and when they didn’t show up you would begin to worry whether or not they were ok.  There were a couple of patients who, to this day I wonder about.

As I neared the end of my treatments, on two occasions, I developed what appeared to be an allergic reaction to the drug, Oxaliplatin. As a result I did not receive the last two doses of this drug.  I am hoping that in the long run that it does not affect my overall recovery.

Well, the last day of treatment finally arrived, on Thursday, September 7, 2006.  Once I completed my treatment, the nurses got together and sang a song and waved a magic wand over me in celebration.  They also presented me with a certificate for the completion of my chemotherapy.  It was a bittersweet day for me.  I realized how lucky I was to be able to walk out and be done; and know that I had a very good chance for a healthy life ahead of me.  But, I also knew that there were others that I got to know during that six-month period that wouldn’t be so lucky.

In closing I must acknowledge the staff and UNC for their wonderful care and professionalism.  I must also thank God for His unfailing love because ultimately without Him, I wouldn’t be here today.

This past Valentine’s Day, I was fortunate enough to mark being cancer free for seven years. I am proud to be colon cancer survivor and even display it on my license plate: :CNCRSVR, so if you ever see me around town, just honk and wave.