ESTEVAN - “You have cancer.”
To me, those words sit at the top of the list of worst possible words to hear from your doctor. Especially when you are a mother of three kids, had a C-section four months ago and are in the middle of a pandemic.
In February 2020, I went to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a routine colonoscopy, which I’d been doing ever since the doctor found polyps while investigating some digestion issues a few years back. The doctor came in and told me that there were a few polyps in my colon, and one of them he could not remove because it was too invasive.
He said that although it did not look cancerous, he took a biopsy. He immediately referred me to a gastroenterologist in Regina. Although the local doctor wanted this taken care of that day, the Regina hospital could not fit me in. So I was left waiting for it to be taken care of later.
First news - pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic caused quite an issue. All procedures that were not labelled “urgent” were put on a lengthy list. Although the physician here in Estevan thought it was urgent, it was not categorized as such in Regina.
Meanwhile, the biopsy came back – the polyp was not cancerous, yet it needed to be taken care of, otherwise it could possibly turn into cancer. But apparently more than just the pandemic was in my way.
More news – I’m pregnant
We didn’t know this at the time, but I was about “five minutes” pregnant with my third child during my colonoscopy.
By the time they were able to get me in to remove this nasty looking polyp, I was already about “honeydew melon” pregnant. However it is not recommended to do scopes while pregnant, so they said they would send me a letter a couple of months after the birth of my child.
Bad news – here comes cancer
After a fairly regular pregnancy, I ended up with an emergency C-section in November 2020. I had a beautiful baby girl, the perfect addition to our little family. But at the back of my mind loomed the question “Has it turned into cancer now?”
In December, the waitlist at the Pasqua Hospital was still lengthy, and by this time, somehow, I had been listed as only needing a scope and nothing else. There were no notes about the looming polyp.
After some self advocating, speaking with the gastroenterologist, and insisting that he look at information that the doctor in Estevan had sent him, he realized that I had fallen through the cracks and it needed to be dealt with stat. Which unfortunately, due to COVID, meant in a couple of months.
In April, I went up to the Pasqua Hospital for the moment of truth. I was nervous and not happy, as I had to go through it alone due to COVID. I nursed my almost five-month-old baby in the parking lot, said goodbye to my husband and walked up to the gastro unit.
After I had my scope, I knew something was up. The specialist walked in, and he said those words… “I am sorry, but you have cancer.”
He didn’t even have the biopsy results back yet. But he knew. And I knew. There it was. The dreaded c-word.
I started to cry. My body and my bowel were exhausted, my breastmilk was leaking out, my post-partum emotions were raging, and my heart felt completely broken. I had never felt so alone.
I made the trek back down to the parking lot where my husband and baby waited for the news. My husband hugged me, and we cried together, and while I breastfed my baby, he said, “The problem isn’t the problem, the problem is your attitude about the problem.” Now obviously, I wanted to punch him in the nose for saying that, but he was right. And we were going to get through it. Together.
Getting through colon cancer
My husband is my best friend. He is my rock and my strength, and I would not have been able to get through this without him. He is kind and patient, and approaches each situation with thoughtfulness and purpose. My strength to get through this came from the people I love. My parents, my sisters, my friends, my witty 12-year-old son, my cheeky three-year-old son and my sweet baby girl. But mostly my husband.
In the days to come, I was told that I would need a colon resection surgery, a right hemicolectomy. My cancer was aggressive and invasive, and knowing how quickly it turned from a polyp into cancer, it needed to be dealt with within a month to ensure it did not spread to my liver or kidneys.
After a CT scan and an MRI to ensure the cancer had not spread, I was medically ready for the surgery. But as a mom of a very young baby, the most difficult part was knowing that I would have to stop nursing her, that I wouldn’t be able to get up with her at night, lift her for six weeks… I knew my family would come through and that my husband could survive on very little sleep – but these were the worries that brought me to my most vulnerable and low points during this process.
After spending over $200 on every different type of bottle on the market and crying daily with how impossible it was to get my five-month-old daughter to drink from literally anything other than me – one day she just looked at me and with her smart little eyes she said, “OK, mom – I will do it.” And she did. Finally, I was completely ready for surgery.
On May 12, I had a right-hemicolectomy at the Regina General Hospital. The team of surgeons cut six holes in my tummy and pulled out half of my colon. And after just a few days in the hospital, I was free to come home.
The biopsy came back - I had stage 1 invasive adenocarcinoma, the cancer had not spread. The surgeon said that although I still had to see the oncologist, he was sure that I did not need to have chemotherapy or radiation. The oncologist confirmed that no further treatment was needed. He also suspected that because of the make-up of the proteins in my tumour and some pre-testing that was done on it, that it was possible that I have Lynch syndrome, which is caused by an inherited gene mutation. I have been sent for testing as it is very important that I find out the results. If it comes back positive, it will be a whole new journey.
Raising-awareness therapy
Because this was such an emotional journey, I decided that it would be very therapeutic for me to create a vlog, where I share the entire process. The appointments, the MRI, the surgery, how to prep for a colonoscopy – all of it.
This was not only important because it was helping me cope, but I truly feel that colon cancer is the most under-talked about and sometimes preventable cancer there is. I want people who may be wondering about their own health to think, “Maybe I should go for a scope or send in that kit.”
I wanted to normalize colon cancer – because people don’t want to talk about it. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in men and the third in women in Canada. That is a sobering statistic. Especially since my cancer, if dealt with sooner, would not have turned into cancer at all. I know prevention is key.
It’s not just a cancer that affects the older generation. I am 20+… 17 years old, and since joining the colon cancer world on social media, I have met hundreds of people under the age of 40 with this disease.
After the release of my first video, there was an outpouring of support and comments. It was humbling and amazing. My videos had thousands of views, and people from all over the world reached out, thanking me for sharing my story and sharing their story with me. Many people mentioned that after watching the videos, they were going to book themselves an appointment to deal with their issues.
My cancer was a breeze compared to people with stage 3 or 4 colon cancer. Surgery, radiation, more surgery – it is not an easy road. People don’t want to talk about “colon” issues – they find it embarrassing or intimidating, but knowing now how deadly colon cancer is, I truly hope that my shared experience can help others.
Epilogue
The last six months have truly been a journey. When you find out you have cancer, suddenly the other problems in your life seem trivial. From this experience I have learned a few things.
- Take a second. Take a second to laugh with your toddler when they rudely burp at the kitchen table after blowing bubbles into their chocolate milk. When your spouse tries to make you dance in the kitchen when you are frantically cooking dinner and trying to get the kids out the door for hockey – take a second to dance with him. Take a second to hug your awkward pre-teen even when they don’t want to and tell your neighbour how much you appreciate them when they bring you pie, or your co-worker for always including you in the office lotto. Those are the things that matter.
- It is so important to advocate for yourself and those you love in terms of healthcare. If you think something is wrong, or if you feel that you have slipped between the cracks, say something, take notes, talk about it.
- Colonoscopy prep is crappy. Literally. But colon cancer is worse.
My journey with cancer is over for now, but my journey of advocating for awareness has just begun.
