WE Have Cancer

I had the pleasure of meeting Dana at the 12th annual Call-on Congress. She became very involved in cancer advocacy efforts after losing her husband Jean to colon cancer on Mother’s Day, 2015. He was only 43-years-old. Her 7-year-old  son will need to begin screening at age 25. Also, her32-year-old brother recently had precancerous cells […] The post Honoring Her Husband’s Memory Through Her Advoc...

This story of Gina’s journey appeared in the 2017 issue of On The Rise and was written by our late friend, Dr. Tom Marsilje. Gina Benedetti may be about the happiest and most hopeful person diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) that you have ever met – and her hope and happiness are infectious! This […] The post Teaching Hope and Happiness in the Face of Cancer appeared first on The Colo...

Matt and Nikki Moore met while they were in college. They fell in love and were married a short time later. In late 2015, while pregnant with their first child, Matt was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer at the age of 32. Before his death, Matt wanted to inspire people to live life to […] The post Honoring Her Husband’s Legacy With Nikki Moore of #LiveMoore appeared first on The Colon Cancer Po...

In this bonus episode Dr. Andrew Albert returns to the show for an informal conversation about colon cancer screening and awareness. He and I talked about embarrassment, stigmas, poop and more. How do we get young people, and their doctors, to recognize their symptoms and understand that there’s no such thing as “too young” for […] The post Talking Colon Cancer Screening and Awareness With Dr. And...

Paul Shadle was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in 2016 after noticing symptoms on a family vacation. He had dismissed prior feelings of fatigue and chalked it up to getting older. On vacation, he had bloating and cramping in his abdomen, later noticing blood in his stool. When Paul was diagnosed, the disease had […] The post Getting Men To Discuss Their Colon Cancer Symptoms, With Paul...

Tara (pronounced Tar-uh) Principali was diagnosed with Stage 2 rectal cancer five years ago at the age of 30. Though she once lived an unhealthy lifestyle, weighing as much as 270 lbs., she dedicated herself to fitness and healthy eating prior to her diagnosis and lost 130 lbs. In addition to the rectal cancer diagnosis Tara […] The post Colon Cancer’s Tattooed Pinup Girl, Tara Principali appeared...

Julienne Edwards was finishing law school, dreaming of her new career. God, as they say, had other plans and at the agee of 26 she was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. Julienne is the Grass Roots Advocacy Manager for Fight CRC. Links Mentioned In The Show Fight CRC Clinical Trial Finder @Jules_GEdwards on Twitter […] The post Leading Grass Roots Advocacy While Dealing With Her Stage IV Diagno...

Danielle and Mike met when they were teenagers. “We were best friends” they told me. When she was just 17, Danielle was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer. Nine years later she again would be diagnosed with colon cancer; this time it was Stage 1. Initial genetic testing was inconclusive. Later on she would learn […] The post Our Seventeen Years With Colon Cancer and Each Other appeared first on...

Happy New Year! There is much to look forward to in 2018. In March, I celebrate my 7th “cancerversary.” This is probably why, being Stage IV, my oncologist called me an “outlier.” I’ll take that! Next month The Colon Cancer Podcast will celebrate its 3rd anniversary. Also, on February 8th – 10th I will be […] The post Her Attitude and Spiritualness Helped Get Her Through Rectal Cancer appeared fir...

I learned of Sasha’s story through a Faces of Blue profile from The Colon Cancer Coalition. Here’s the article: 18 months, 78 weeks, 546 days, 13104 hours, 786240 minutes. I heard him, but I didn’t really hear him. I stared into his face trying to keep composure. Eighteen months with a good quality of life […] The post Her Colorectal Cancer Symptoms Were Dismissed and She’s Happy To Be Alive appea...

Matthew Dons, originally from the U.K. and now living in Japan was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in 2016. I was introduced to Matthew by Dr. Andrew Albert who was a previous guest on the podcast. During our conversation Matthew talked extensively about the various treatment options that he’s explored including Proton Beam Therapy. Matthew […] The post A Conversation About a Terminal Colon C...

Ed Yakacki III first appeared on The Colon Cancer Podcast in April, 2015 – http://thecoloncancerpodcast.com/010. During that interview Ed talked about his his experience with colorectal cancer; a disease that his doctors have now said he’s beaten. Unfortunately, Ed had many more cancer battles in front of him. Since beating colorectal cancer, Ed has been […] The post Colorectal Cancer, Thyroid Can...

Dave Dubin is a 2-time colon cancer survivor and the third generation in his family with Lynch Syndrome. He founded Aliveandkickn.org with the mission “To improve the lives of individuals and families affected by Lynch Syndrome and associated cancers through research, education, and screening.” A key component of Aliveandkickn.org is the Heroic Registry. This registry “allows […] The post I Am Ali...

2 1/2 year survivor, Joy Freedman shared her thoughts on the 2017 Tomorrow Can’t Wait Colorectal Cancer Alliance conference. The post 2017 Tomorrow Can’t Wait – Interview With Joy Freedman appeared first on The Colon Cancer Podcast .

On November 1st, 2017 CEO, Michael Sapienza, made an exciting announcement about the rebranding of The Colon Cancer Alliance to the new Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Listen to this announcement followed by an interview with Michael about this new initiative. The post A Nation of Allies; the New Colorectal Cancer Alliance appeared first on The Colon Cancer Podcast .

Noel Doheny, CEO of Epigenomics, spoke with me during Tomorrow Can’t Wait, the 2017 Colorectal Cancer Alliance conference. Epigenomics has developed the first FDA  and PMA approved liquid biopsy test to screen for colorectal cancer. The post A Blood Test to Screen For Colorectal Cancer? Epigenomics Has It appeared first on The Colon Cancer Podcast .

When photographer, Scott Wilson, was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer and was told chemotherapy meant avoiding direct sunlight, placing serious constraints on his landscape photography career, he set about creating a new Colorado wildlife portfolio, shot entirely Through the Window of his car. The result is a compelling visual journey through Scott’s year-long triumph […] The post Through The...

Dr. Andrew Albert is a Board Certified Gastroenterologist and serves patients in Chicago at his practice, Chicago Gastro. After losing a patient to colon cancer he was at his wit’s end. “Colon Cancer is 95% preventable if people would only get screened” he said. An avid cyclist, Dr. Albert decided to voice his frustration and […] The post How One Doctor Is Working to Increase Colorectal Cancer Scr...

A cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. The emotions behind hearing the words “you have cancer” can often cloud a patient’s ability to comprehend the information being shared by the medical team as well as the patient’s ability to ask important questions. Eddie Leigh is a 20 year survivor of colorectal cancer and is the Founder […] The post How to Communicate With Your Healthcare Team, With Eddie...

Most people do everything on their power to avoid having difficult conversations. I can’t think of a more difficult conversation then having to tell your children you have cancer. I’ve had to do this on several occasions and even though I’m the parent of adult children it is incredibly hard. I couldn’t imagine having to […] The post How to Talk to Your Children About Your Cancer appeared first on...

Many of our listeners know Dr. Tom Marsilje. Tom was a guest on the show in 2016. He is currently crowdfunding a UCSD (University of California, San Diego) CRC clinical trial. Because of the timing of this critical project, along with the challenges that The Colon Cancer Podcast experienced due to Hurricane Irma, we decided […] The post Creating and Crowdfunding a Colorectal Cancer Clinical Trial...

Like so many young Colon Cancer Survivors, Sarah DeBord was told her symptoms were “probably hemorrhoids.” Several years later she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer. Having recently completed her 125th round of chemotherapy, Sarah says her disease is stable. During our conversation we discussed: Her work with the Colon Cancer Coalition The Colon […] The post What Can Cancer Do To Your Marria...

Tabitha Cavanagh was diagnosed with Stage III Colon Cancer in January of 2017. She was 31 years old and had a little girl and had just gotten married. Tabitha completed chemotherapy in July of 2017 and immediately plunged herself into exercise as a way to heal her mind and body. On her Facebook page, Grit […] The post Tabitha Cavanagh Finds Her Healing Through Helping Others appeared first on The...

Dr. Cannon is a specialty care physician board certified in medical oncology. He has a special interest in management of gastrointestinal malignancies including colorectal cancer. Dr. Cannon is the clinical director and moderator of the weekly molecular tumor board at Inova, which matches patients with targeted therapies based on molecular diagnostics. He is very interested […] The post What Every...

Deb Fox has made it her mission to help the members of the ostomy community. She has created a private Facebook group – OstoMyFamily – to provide those with ostomies a private, safe forum to discuss all things ostomy. Her websites – ostomy211.com and ostomy211.org -provide numerous resources, along with support, for the ostomy community. Deb received […] The post Supporting the Ostomy Community, W...