In the fall of 2012 Jody Mills received a letter in the mail, it was from the Saskatchewan Colorectal Cancer Screening and contained information on a FIT test (Fecal Immunochemical Test). Asking her if she would like to participate in it, all she would have to do is use the test sent out in the mail to take a small stool sample and return it.
Jody agreed to the test, with a history of cancer on both sides of her family it was something she decided she had to do. Now a year and a half after her battle with colorectal cancer, Jody wants to encourage people to participate in the FIT test because it is something which has ultimately saved her life.
"Basically you collect a sample, put a dab in here and mail it off, so that's basically what a FIT test is, it's a stool sample that you send off and they do the screening on it" Jody explained.
She then recited what the letter following the screening said, "'The FIT test you returned to us came back, then it had in bold letters, abnormal.' And I was like, 'Whoa.'"
Though abnormal was the reading, there was still a chance it wasn't cancer, but something that could easily be remedied.
"The next paragraph it says, 'Don't panic it doesn't mean you have cancer,' but they send you for a colonoscopy and, yes, I did have cancer and they diagnosed me right on the table when I was having my colonoscopy," Jody stated.
"But over 52 percent of people who have abnormal results might have bleeding hemorrhoids or precancerous lesions that when the stool passes by them they bleed enough that the FIT test can find it. So the majority of people who have abnormal results they're not finding that they have cancer, but they have precancerous lesions that can be removed right there during the colonoscopy."
Thus, if people are willing to participate in a FIT test it could mean prevention of cancer through the removal of precancerous cells before they become cancerous.
Jody had no symptoms, there was no blood in her stool and she felt well, but the colonoscopy showed she was already in stage three, meaning the cancer was quite advanced.
"I had no reason to think that I had anything wrong and so I thought sure I'll do this test, then it comes back abnormal, and I go for my colonoscopy in February of 2013 and I've been fighting it ever since," Jody said. "I've had radiation, oral chemo, surgery to remove the tumor which was a huge surgery, it was about a six hour surgery, and then I had eight IV chemo and those were done in November. In October I had been diagnosed with blood clots so as I'm trying to get over those, I still had a couple more IV chemo treatments."
Further surgery was done in April this year to reverse the ileostomy bag that she had.
Jody is honest, the process has been difficult, but she would make the choice to take the FIT test again because despite a somewhat rough year and a half Jody has won her battle with colorectal cancer. She is now on the mend and has the FIT test to thank because she doesn't know when it would have been found it otherwise.
Laughing Jody said, "I've never talked about my poo as much as I have before," but talking about stool is important when it can save a life or prevent cancer.
"What I want to do is just encourage people to do this," Jody said. "I personally know two people who are in the same boat as me and they got diagnosed with cancer through doing this test. I've had so many people tell me that because of me they have done it, and lucky them it's come back normal, but some people had said if they didn't know about it they might not have done it."
"This thing comes in the mail and you're like what? You want me to send in a stool sample? What's that for? And I've had people ask me, 'why did you do that?' To me it's not any different than all of us going out to the bus for mammograms."
Jody wants people to talk about their stool, to help realize that the waste one's body creates can tell a lot about one's health.
"I have so much cancer on both sides of my family, I always kind of knew I'd end up with it somewhere, but I think some of the stigmatism too, because it's poo and stool, people don't want to talk about it you know? It's not like, 'oh yeah I had my mammogram done,' and 'yeah I had a good report;' but, nobody ever says 'I sent a stool sample in and it came back with a good report,' so I think there's just a stigmatism."
And Jody's message is, at its core, very simple, "Don't be afraid to talk about your poo."
"Get checked every second year, remove precancerous cells before it gets to cancer, it's just a little test you don't have to see the doctor or make an appointment and I think that's one of the reasons why I did it too. It's just something you do at home.
Jody has battled colorectal cancer and has overcome it with the help of health care professionals, a supportive community, her amazing husband Murray, and her family. Though she is now getting over an infection, her immune system has been weakened due to the battle, but she is feeling better every day.
The fight against cancer for her life, however, began with the simple step of completing the FIT test.
In Saskatchewan colorectal cancer is the second most common form of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death in the province; but, according to the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency it is over 90 percent preventable.
This is where the FIT test comes in. The FIT test is available for people aged 50 to 74 and who have not been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the past five years. The kits are sent to eligible participants who fit the above criteria and also have a valid Saskatchewan Health Services card, while kits can also be picked up from a local doctor's office.
