Ricki Park
May 31, 2001—While visiting in Michigan to celebrate my mom's 80th birthday with my dad, my siblings, their spouses and "local" grandchildren, I leaned over to my brother-in-law and said, "Isn't it amazing that we can all be together like this and have not had any family disasters or major illnesses?" Everything looked great and I had a rosy outlook on life. In addition to having a great family, I was successful in my career and my husband and I were finally reaching some degree of financial security.
July 19, 2001—As I was getting out of bed in the morning I was experiencing no small amount of abdominal pain and felt very jittery, almost to the point of passing out (not like me at all). I called my doctor's office and was instructed to get to an ER immediately since their office did not have the equipment to do the proper testing. I had been going to this doctor for seven years and had been complaining about various symptoms such as rectal bleeding, changes in my stool and even symptoms that indicated a weakening immune system. In retrospect, it's easy to say that I was given inadequate, bad medical advice but I'm not a doctor and I wanted to believe that I was being treated properly. In all this time, with continuing–even increasing–symptoms, a colonoscopy was never suggested. A sigmoidoscopy and barium enema had been performed at two different times over a two year period but the one test that could have detected my growing problem was never prescribed.
In fact, I was told that everything was fine and that I just needed to take more fiber. I was diagnosed as a normal, healthy female with hemorrhoids. What did I know? I wanted to believe it. Now, after six hours and many tests, the ER personnel told me and my husband that they had discovered a large mass on one ovary. The next day an oncologist we were referred to also mentioned a suspicious but unknown mass on my liver. Scary!!!
August 2, 2001—The two weeks between my visit to the ER and surgery seemed like an eternity. The GYN Oncologist/Surgeon from Rocky Mountain Cancer Center whom I had ultimately been referred to had ordered a liver biopsy which turned out negative. Plans were made for surgery with the oncologist being fairly certain that it was ovarian cancer that spread to my liver. During the operation a biopsy of the ovarian tumor was sent to the lab and the analysis revealed that the ovarian tumor was actually metastasized colon cancer. This started a whole new search in the middle of my surgery which showed that the colon cancer had metastasized to 23 out of 26 lymph nodes around the colon, to the right ovary and to the liver. It was Stage 4 colon cancer. I had no idea what I was in for.
April 5, 2007—During these last six years I have had a hysterectomy with a colon resection, then a closed Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) to the liver. I also had an open, partial liver resection with a second RFA and later, a Radio Embolization (microscopic radioactive beads placed in my liver). Also, with the exception of a few brief "vacations" just before and after the surgeries, I have continued to receive chemotherapy on a weekly basis for the entire six years.
My husband and I could tell a hundred different stories about the adventure we have been on over the past six years, but mostly we thank our Lord that I have been spared for this time and that I am still able and determined to fight this terrible disease. I've wondered why I am still here when many friends, who I have come to know through our shared chemo experience, are not. Maybe it is so I can tell you to "Be Persistent." If you have abdominal or rectal symptoms of any kind and are not being told to get a colonoscopy IMMEDIATELY to diagnose what is going on, then insist or find a new doctor. Be persistent! Early diagnosis is the key to making this a much easier fight than what I have described. Fighting late stage colon cancer is not something anyone should have to go through.
My best to you,
Ricki