Why did we choose Colon Cancer Alliance? Simple. They have personally helped my family. If you are newly diagnosed, clicking on Colon Cancer Alliance is a great place to start learning about the disease, treatment options, diet, clinical studies, research, etc. You need to find a reliable source of information. They recently merged with Chris4Life which was another website we used as well. Support is just as important as information and that is where CCA shines.
My parents were just turning 50 and it was time to get a colonoscopy. Looking back on it, there were signs that my dad had something going on but the side effects were subtle and could be explained away as something else. When he was diagnosed, we were shocked. But God was working in the midst of the ordeal. Instead of having the colonoscopy at the clinic like my mother, dad had his at the hospital. There happened to be a surgery going on at the same time and his gastroenterologist asked the surgeon to step in and confirm the cancer. Within a few weeks, my dad had the same surgeon remove a section of his colon and his treatment had started. Dad didn't want to wait - he wanted to take care of it as soon as possible.
There was too much to learn in a short period of time. Trying to figure out what is credible on the internet is hard. Ever the analyst, mom continued to gather and read things as the treatment went along. My aunt, Holly Emmons, an oncology nurse in Washington, also suggested the Chris4Life website.
Dad receives treatments at Ohio Hematology Care in Cincinnati. Dr Edward Crane has been taking care of my dad and he has a great staff. The Home Infusion team has been a tremendous blessing. My dad gets IV fluids at home after each treatment. We feel like those treatments have kept him out of the hospital. We were told there was only a small chance that the cancer would spread or come back; we got comfortable. Life began to get back to normal. After 18 months, my dad had returned to work in April 2015. Over the 2015 holidays, an elevated CEA lead to more testing and they found a large lesion on his liver. The unexpected had happened and now dad was Stage 4. He had a liver resection almost immediately on January 4, 2016.
This time, my mom understood more of what she read on the CCA website and found the support groups, the Facebook pages, the webinars and the chat rooms. She signed up for everything that she could to learn more about my dad's situation. The chance to talk to other Stage 4 patients was huge.
She has learned from them what to ask my dad's physician and find out about clinical trials or research. Someone is always quick to respond. Hearing that other Stage 4 patients have made it to NED (no evidence of disease) has been a positive goal for us.
A cancer diagnosis is devastating to a family. The care is expensive and protracted. We were blessed to have health insurance through my dad's company, but CCA has funding available to patients in need. Most importantly, they help fund research. Being a pre-med student, research into curing the disease is extremely important to me. When my mother relayed to me how much CCA had helped her as the caregiver for my dad, I knew I wanted to make this hike about ministering to other families just like us and use fundraising for CCA as part of my hike.
The medical field is changing rapidly and new treatments are being approved every day. I am sure there is someone you know that has been affected by colorectal cancer. The fact based information they provide is very important to all families going through this battle. Here is a link where you can donate to help them fight this disease. PCT with Purpose. Sign up for my Facebook page to be notified when I have updates on my hiking blog. PCT with Purpose Facebook Group. Thanks so much!
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