Don’t assume you’re too young for ColonCancer. After a shocking diagnosis, Alicia’s bridal shower quickly became a cancer support shower 🤝 ColorectalCancer
. But with the private health insurance I had as a freelance photographer, the procedure was going to cost $3,000, and the next available appointment wasn’t for four months.
I decided to skip the procedure. I thought, Maybe this is all just caused by stress. I was young, healthy and active. Why should I be concerned? With expense and unavailability putting the test out of reach, stress was beginning to sound like the culprit after all. Plus, if none of my doctors seemed concerned, why should I be?, so instead of getting the colonoscopy, I cut out gluten, and then dairy. But my symptoms kept getting worse.
Instead of falling asleep during the procedure, I remained fully awake under the “twilight” sleep medication and heard the doctors ask, “What is a 32-year-old woman doing here?” Full of anticipation, I remained fully conscious as the medical professionals navigated my colon. They were almost done when I heard someone ask, “What’s that?” “That” was the tumor, sitting right on the muscle that triggers the feeling you get when you have to have a bowel movement.
With that, my bridal shower became partly a cancer support shower. As I packed to leave the hospital, I looked at my book on healthy pregnancy, suspecting I no longer needed it. I was eventually diagnosed with locally advanced stage 3 colorectal cancer. My husband was my rock and my caretaker throughout the ordeal. As a Marine, he wasn’t squeamish about anything. He helped me through