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First there was the Colossal Colon. Now Molly McMaster and her organization, The Colon Club, have come up with a calendar ("Colondar") of young men and women who have survived colorectal cancer.The Colon Club’s 2008 Colondar takes an artistic look at survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC), all diagnosed under the age of 50. These model-survivors show that colorectal cancer does not discriminate by age, skin color or gender. They are mothers, brothers, husbands and colleagues. They are people like Suzie Hill, a GI nurse, who at the age of 37 discovered a large amount of blood in her stool. She mentioned it to a coworker. “Before I knew it, I was doing a hallway consult with one of our gastroenterologists. We both decided that a colonoscopy would be great to discover the source of this blood, although I was only 37 years old with no family history of colon cancer,” says Suzie. Suzie was unsure about having a colonoscopy where she worked, but her biggest concern turned out to be a blessing. Her doctor found a tumor and she woke from her colonoscopy surrounded by her husband and the entire staff. “I knew they had found something, and I cannot say how thankful I was to be amongst those who truly cared about me, and had already started making arrangements for the next step in my care,” says Suzie. She was quickly scheduled for a CT scan and surgery, resulting in a diagnosis of stage III colon cancer. As a mother of three (ages 7, 9 and 11 at the time of her diagnosis), Suzie struggled with what to tell them. Ultimately, she decided the truth was the best approach for the long months ahead. “We were so glad that we were honest with our children,” says Suzie. “They now have more compassion when they hear of other friends struggling through tough times.” |
