Colon Cancer Resource

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN...NEVER EVER LOSE HOPE!

by jeni
(mattoon, il, usa)

My husband was diagnosed on Nov 6, 2006 with stage 2c colon cancer. he was 30 years old. my husband had lost over 80 lbs since Jan 2006. he was having severe pain in his left side, weakness/fatigue, grey skin color, large amounts of blood in his stool, and couldn't eat more than a half a cup of food once a day. he was living on Popsicle and Gatorade. his job transferred us 12 hours away from our family to Pensacola, Florida in September 2006. I was hired as a hospice social worker in October 2006...not knowing that i was getting training for what was to come. I took my husband to the local er on November 3 and they sent us home. Said we needed to find a local doctor. keep in mind we did not have insurance at this time due to a 60 day waiting period for my job. i then took him to another hospital on Nov 6. they immediately started ivs, testing, scans.

We were told he had an abdominal mass and would be admitted to hospital. we packed our stuff and he was taken to the elevator. Ding, elevator doors opened on the forth floor. In bold blue letters it says...Cancer Care Center. This is how we found out my husband had cancer. I was 26 years old and he was 30. my husband weighed 112 lbs and they had to get his blood work up for surgery on Monday.

So the phone calls began. First to his mother to tell her her son has cancer and is going for surgery. then to the rest of the family and friends. his surgery was to last 1 hour. four hours later the doctor came out and with tears in his eyes tells me that he has terminal colon cancer and he has less than six months to live.

I had a seizure due to stress. i recovered about 2 hours later and decided i was going to be a fighter. Cancer was not going to take my husband and i was not going to be a childless widow at age 26! my husband was on tube feeding, ng tube, and morphine iv for the next six weeks.

I worked hospice and saw people dying everyday from cancer. i slept at the hospital and left for work from their everyday. i found out that i had three days to get cobra insurance from my previous employer or my new insurance would not pay due to pre existing condition. My hospice co-workers donated money and raised 1700 dollars to cover cobra. my husband had two daughters from a previous marriage. They lived in kentucky and could only come a couple of times.

We wanted our own children also. my husband was tested at a fertility clinic in jan 2007 to preserve sperm before chemo started. he only had 5-10 all three times tested. more bad news... dr said he would probably not be able to have children due the cancer and stress on his body.

I was devastated. but kept on fighting. there was an MD Anderson clinic in Pensacola fl. the only other one was in Texas. Dr Sunnenburg had started a branch in Florida. the waiting list was at 750. a coworker of mine was very good friends with the dr.

My husband was accepted and began chemo on jan 7th a day after his 31st birthday. 8 months later he finished chemo and radiation. this was very hard on his body and soul. being faced with a death sentence was devastating for him. he was eventually addicted to narcotics and anxiety medication. this caused a separation on oct 5, 2007. he moved to Kentucky and I moved back to Illinois to be with our families. i made several trips to Kentucky to see him and encourage him on his journey to recovery.

On December 14, i found out i was pregnant! I moved to Kentucky for awhile to support him with his recovery...which was a long road. Now it is 4 and half years since his diagnosis and we have a beautiful little girl named Zaleah...it means sunshine. my husband is working full time and healthy. he no longer has an addiction issue and we are very happy.

I currently work as a hospice social worker in Illinois. I share this story to others to encourage them to never ever lose hope. enjoy everyday you have with a loved one. and things happen for a reason. Prayer really does work!