Mel’s Mission: Colorectal Cancer Awareness
Welcome!
Hello! My name is Mel. Okay it's actually Melissa, but I find it's too long of a name. I prefer Mel or Missy. Short and simple. I live in the beautiful state of Montana. My hobbies include spending time with my family, exploring the great outdoors, nature, crafts, woodworking, writing, research, science, astronomy, games, puzzles, Super Mario Bros, Smurfs and Legos. My favorite color is M&M blue.
I spent many years not really taking care of myself: drinking too much, eating too much, not getting the exercise I needed, and constantly being stressed about money, my kids, etc. I thought I was pretty healthy, not perfectly healthy, but healthy enough.
I started to have terrible hangovers and felt dizzy even after the tiniest bit of alcohol. This wasn't like me. This was new. Something was wrong. Why was I no longer able to enjoy alcohol like my friends? It was only beer after all. I didn't drink the "hard stuff" like I did when I was in my 20's. Yet now, after one beer, it felt like I had drank 3 or 4. It was pretty scary. I decided to quit completely on April Fools Day 2022. Then I started eating better, and started feeling better. I was now on the path to health....
Fast forward to January 2023...
Out of the Blue
On January 29th, 2023, my cousin Laurie sent me a random message telling me that we have hereditary heart issues that run in our family, specifically with our grandfather. I was shocked. I always knew about my cousin's lifelong heart issues, but never heard my grandpa had it too. Laurie had an inherited heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. She had told me to request an echocardiogram from my doctor as soon as possible. So, I did. I was able to get an appointment for the echocardiogram within a couple weeks. After the appointment, I was very relieved to find out that I didn't have any heart issues. I called my dad to tell him about Laurie's dire warning for me to get checked out. Come to find out, the hereditary heart issue was on her other grandpa's side of the family, not mine. My grandpa died of complications from diabetes.
Was this a Sign?
Five days after Laurie had sent me that message, I went to the walk-in clinic to see about getting the echocardiogram appointment. It was at this appointment that the doctor mentioned I was "at-that-age" for a colonoscopy. She said the recommendation had recently changed from 50 years old down to 45. I was 48. I wasn't there to talk about a colonoscopy, I wanted my heart looked at. However, she talked me into getting a referral for the colonoscopy anyway. My colonoscopy appointment was scheduled 4 months out, in June. That was fine by me, since I didn't want a colonoscopy in the first place. Little did I know, the error my cousin made about the hereditary heart issue, possibly saved my life. I wouldn't have gone to see the doctor if it wasn't for her. Laurie passed away in September of 2023.
"You've got to be kidding!"
June 16th, 2023. All prepped and ready for my very first colonoscopy! I remember being wheeled down to the examination room, being told to pick out a good dream, then off to sleep I went. Next thing I know, I'm being wheeled back to the pre-op room and slowly waking up. A few minutes later, the doctor comes in and says my entire colon was clean...except for one spot in the rectum. I thought he was kidding. But soon realized he wasn't. He mentioned that it could possibly be cancerous and that they had taken a biopsy for testing. I was in disbelief. All I thought was: "This can't be happening to me. I don't have time for this, I'm not sick, I have no symptoms...are you serious?"
"There is NOTHING you can do."
4 days later...June 20th, 2023. The doctor called me at work to tell me the results of the biopsy...RECTAL CANCER!!! My heart sunk, my thoughts were, "I'm going to die!" What can I do? What are my options? Why ME? I had a million questions running through my mind. A series of appointments followed. I met my entire "team" of doctors along with having several scans. After they determined what stage of cancer I had (stage 2, possibly 3), I was told my only options were: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I could choose to have chemo/radiation first. If that worked, then maybe I wouldn't need surgery. If I chose surgery first, they would remove more than just the tumor, a lot more...let's just say I would have to have a colostomy bag for life if I chose this option. Plus, I would still have to do chemo to ensure they "got it all." I was afraid of my options, deathly afraid. I asked one of my doctors if there is anything I could do, anything at all to get rid of this cancer on my own: eat better, exercise more, take supplements, medications, etc. I was desperate and he knew it. His response was:
"There is nothing you can do!"
Researching my options...alone.
Maybe there WERE other options? If there were, I was going to find out. I started to research and read all I could about rectal cancer. It consumed me day and night. Luckily, I did have some previous knowledge on the subject of cancer from all of my books and resources that I had accumulated in the last few years. Looking back, why was I so interested in cancer prevention in the first place, and why did I have so many books and resources on the subject? Was this another sign? Anyway, I was happy I had them. I started from scratch, re-reading everything. Only this time it was for treatment, not prevention. I knew I needed more though; this was a personal war. I was desperate to throw everything I could at this, and I also wanted to prove my doctor wrong when he said, "there is nothing you can do." I wanted to know everything I could about this stubborn rectal tumor. I wanted to know if my cancer was genetic. I wanted to know exact size, dimensions, shape of my tumor. I wanted to know if it had spread to surrounding lymph nodes or other parts of my body. I had 4 different scans done. I looked at every detail of each of those scans, each one serving a little different purpose. Colonoscopy, CT, MRI, and Ultrasound. I wanted to be an expert on my particular cancer. I looked for clinical trials, targeted therapies, cancer clinics, alternative treatments, integrative treatments, anything and everything, I was open to it all...except chemo, radiation, and surgery.
Decision Made!
After 2 months of appointments, scans, lots of research, lots of phone calls, all while trying to work full time, I decided that going to Brio Medical in Scottsdale, Arizona was the right fit for me. I could get far away from everything I knew and just focus on myself and healing. I felt very compelled to take this path. They offered many alternative and integrative therapies, high dose IV, everything to boost the immune system, and everything to target the cancer. It sounded perfect to me. The only thing I needed to figure out was, how am I going to pay for this and who's going with me? Thank God the bank was compassionate enough to give me a loan and that my daughter was willing to come with me. How to pay for it when I get back? I didn't have a clue and honestly didn't care. My mission was all out war on this "thing" the size of my thumb. On Saturday September 2nd, my daughter and I left for a 7 week-long journey to Scottsdale, Arizona. What an amazing journey it was. I could fill an entire book on the experience, the ups and downs and everything in between. Maybe in the future I'll create a blog or write a book about it. But until then, my journey continues...
Ready to Give Back
As compelled as I was to go to Brio for treatment, I feel just as compelled to start an awareness campaign for colorectal cancer. I want to turn my diagnosis into something positive.
It was bittersweet having that first colonoscopy. On one hand, it could have been done 2 years prior when they changed the age to 45 in 2021. (I would have been 46.) However, if they hadn't changed the age in the first place, I wouldn't have known for 2 MORE YEARS!!!
Please click here learn to more about Mel's Mission and awareness campaign.
Please click here to get in touch with me. I would love to hear your story, or if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.