Editor's Note: Cancer survivors, family members and others are preparing for Crestview's American Cancer Society Relay For Life. Teams will have at least one member continuously walking the circuit 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. April 24-25 at Shoal River Middle School. Visit www.relayforlife.org/crestviewfl for more information.
CRESTVIEW — Jeri Toolan credits a family doctor-recommended procedure for nine cancer-free years.
After the 2006 birth of her third child, she initially attributed pain in her abdomen to childbirth's residual effects.
But the pain became more severe.
“I had a sharp pain in my right side, like a knife in my stomach, when I stood up,” Toolan said. “I worked at a desk a lot so I just didn’t stand up as much … I saw my ‘little girl’s’ doctor and he said I had to have a hysterectomy. So I went to my family doctor.”
He ordered a colonoscopy, an exam that detects abnormalities in the large intestine and rectum. As Toolan came out of anesthesia from the procedure, she saw her surgeon, who referred her to a Birmingham surgeon.
The goal was to ensure her colon could be reattached after a cancerous section was removed. “Otherwise, you’re on the (colostomy) bag,” Toolan said, referring to a prosthetic device people wear to collect waste from a surgically created opening.
Though her colon was re-attached, and she avoided having to receive chemotherapy after surgery, she annually must get a colonoscopy, which her insurance carrier only covers every other year.
“I was truly blessed by catching it (cancer) so early,” Toolan said.
Due to early detection, Toolan maintains a busy lifestyle, being a mom, checking progress on her family’s construction company job sites and conducting CrossFit boot camps.
One in 20 people — slightly more men than women — will be diagnosed with colon cancer, the third leading cancer-related death, according to the American Cancer Society.
A colonoscopy can be simple and painless, so Toolan said she is surprised that people still avoid having it done.
“People say, ‘I don’t have a history (of cancer).’ Well, I didn’t have a history.
“… My thought is, if your stomach hurts, you need to have a colonoscopy, plain and simple. You never know. You just never know.”
MORE INFORMATION
Colonoscopy (koe-lun-OS-kuh-pee): an exam that detects changes or abnormalities in the large intestine and rectum.
A long, flexible tube is inserted into the rectum. A tiny video camera at the tube's tip allows the doctor to view the inside of the entire colon.
If necessary, polyps or other abnormal tissue can be removed through the scope, and tissue samples can be taken. — Source: Mayo Clinic
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview cancer survivor: Listen to your body, get tested