Personal Narrative: I Have Stage Three Colorectal Cancer

I have always had a high admiration for the impact that physicians have on families. At an early age, my younger sister had major heart surgery. Being four, I was too young to fully grasp what this meant for my family, but I quickly learned the grief my parents endured thinking their only daughter would not live past two. Dr. Jane Doe saved my sister, giving me a friend for life. I have set my goal to be like countless doctors who save lives daily and improve the quality

One time, I was taken aback and saddened by a patient yelling a plea to God as she was suffering through tremendous pain. As I walked into the room, the first thing this patient did was stop yelling and attempt to put on a calm face. It was a sobering moment, but I proceeded to ask her if I could do anything to help. What struck me most about this moment, was how much fight this lady could conjure up to hide her pain and yet still remain compassionate towards me. I hadn't expected anything, but this experience was a brilliant reminder of why I wanted so badly to improve the conditions of patients across the medical spectrum. I couldn't fathom the extent of this patient's pain, but I could fathom the idea of pain itself. In the patient, I saw a little bit of myself. I wanted to help this patient greatly and desired the means to do so. In this patient, I saw the nature of humanity. Human beings, for the most part, are inherently good and strive to be selfless even at their weakest moments. In fact, most people I know tend to be more worried about others than themselves, whether it be from a positive or negative perspective. As I got to know this patient, I realized how much she wanted to be with her family and see her grandchildren grow up. Though she was aware of the pain and suffering, she was also aware of what could be once she got through this struggle. Once I become a medical doctor, I can give back

Cancer is a frightening topic, the National Cancer Institute states that “more women in America have died of [cancer] in the last two decades [than in WW1 and WW2 combined]”. It’s no wonder the word alone can bring anguish to many, there is still much we don’t understand about cancer. It wasn’t until recently that we began to noticed a trend of disease in my family. My grandmother Olga Losoya Suarez passed away in August of 2015 to colon cancer at the age of 75. As one can imagine this was devastating as she was the center of the family, always bringing everyone together on the holidays. Soon disaster struck again as my grandmother on my father’s side, Carolina Tovar, passed from pancreatic cancer in June of 2016 at the age of 71. Although most of the family felt a mixture of emotions, one that dominated the rest was concern. My parents, Aunts, and Uncles concerned that cancer was becoming more prominent in our family sought checkups from their doctors. My Aunt Linda informed

I went to the hospital several times to attend the orientation as well as to fulfill the requirements to volunteer and I was glad when I was finally deemed ready to volunteer at this hospital. I had two jobs consisting of helping out in the ICU and sending flowers to the patients throughout the hospital. I learned many things in the hospital that I had not known before through the friendliness and the supportive nature of all the staff. I learned how to basics of reading the heartbeat on the EKG, that leeches are still currently used to help circulate the blood in a certain portion of a patient’s body, and many other things. It was a very interesting experience and I enjoyed the opportunity

Ever since I was a kid, I have always been active. I fell into a deep depression and gained very few people knew about and gained

When I spoke to the Doctor, she recommended that we have surgery, not knowing if they would diagnose the disease as advanced as my Mom. I was scared, not knowing what the outcome would be. I was just forty-nine years old, and I prepared myself for a fight and battle; I wasn’t going to let this disease win. Preparing for the treatments and keeping a positive attitude was my survivor tool. After surgery, my cancer was diagnosed as stage one and the tumor being very minuscule. The Doctor recommended for me to have 30 radiation treatments and no chemo ordered. Every day, I would wake up and say to myself “yes I am going to stay active and positive and beat this disease”. In Geneva where I live there is a facility called the Living Well Cancer Resource Center; I would drive past it daily not knowing that this facility would be part of my life for the next six months. I was recommended to check out the support cancer group meetings they held. I attended my first session by myself, and I also started my radiation treatments the same week. I never attended any type of support groups or addiction meetings, so I didn’t know what to expect. The meeting started off with a panel of ladies who are all cancer patients or cancer survivors. We each took our turn to introduce ourselves and talk about what cancer you been diagnosed with, and how long you been going for

While I was finishing up my freshman year in college, my father went through a major surgery in which he had to remove almost a third of his internal organs due to the visceral metastasis. His attending physician thoroughly but carefully explained to my family about his condition which equipped us with a greater understanding of cancer pathology. Although my father’s condition did not seem promising at that time, my family was touched by the empathetic physician who made my father’s condition sound very manageable and hopeful. I believe that my father’s quick recovery after a total of eight chemotherapy treatments was a miracle. Through his recovery, I became more appreciative of what the medicine could offer to the patients and their families that help them alleviate both physical and emotional

This essay discusses the case of John, a 65-year-old male who has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) and is receiving his last cycle of chemotherapy post-surgery. The essay critically discusses the recommended follow-up regimen after curative treatment for CRC and signs and symptoms associated with CRC recurrences. Additionally, survivorship issues that are experienced by cancer survivors with strategies to prevent the issues are discussed. Moreover, relevant health education for optimum self-management and communication strategies that facilitate effective education is discussed.

I never wanted to be fluent in cancer. I was content with my unrealized ignorance of oncological jargon and procedures. However, on April 10th 2015, when my husband was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, I quickly went from being ignorant of this disease, to consumed by it. The day of his diagnosis I began to educate myself on the role of caretaker and took post in a position that I would both loath and treasure.

They went above and beyond their job requirements to make a patient and her family comfortable during a very difficult time. In the years following my surgery I frequently visited doctors offices for testing and check ups. With these visits, I was exposed to inspirational doctors as well as some that fell short of expectations. I learned through first hand experience the magnitude of the impact a doctor can have on their patients lives. This knowledge has driven me to pursue a pre-med bachelors degree, in hope to attend an excellent medical school and further more become a pediatric oncologist. There is no greater cause that I can imagine devoting my life to than delivering the needed care and support to children and their families while they go through the most unimaginable situation. I want to be the doctor who handed that scared child a beanie baby right before her surgery to stop her

Summary: I worked with a team of PhDs and physicians to complete multiple manuscripts in a short period of time. I had no prior knowledge of colorectal cancer research, nor the process of publishing a research paper. However, I took it upon myself to learn about similar studies and the process of developing such research papers. As a result of my excellent work and extensive contributions,

How do you deal with the worst news that has been given to you? It was suppose to be an amazing summer.No more worrying about school.Watching Netflix all night.It all started off by hours of Netflix watching.I got out of my room afer a while only to find my mom crying after she got a phone call from her sister in Mexico. Since I knew she only cries when something terrible has happened , I asked her what was wrong. She started to cry even more.At this point , I didn’t know if I wanted to know. Then five words came out that will never make me forget that summer.

Cancer is the world’s second leading cause of death. In 2017, it is projected that there will be 1,688,780 new cases of cancer of any site and an estimated 600,920 people will die of cancer. Cancer is a highly intellectual, relentless, and malicious disease that consumes and ultimately becomes the host of our bodies. If I could attempt to do something without any chance of failure, I would spend my life researching and finding a cure for all cancers, spreading that cure, and using that knowledge to save the lives of cancer patients. I have seen cancer devour the purest of souls. Pancreatic cancer abruptly yet unobtrusively took my grandmother away in less than two weeks of being diagnosed. A year later, within three weeks of my grandfather being diagnosed with the same cancer, we watched

Colorectal cancer is becoming an increasingly greater threat of death from cancer but if caught early the survival rate increases about 90% so screening is very important as a diagnostic tool.

Primarily, colorectal cancer, if not treated, is a deadly cancer that focuses on the last two parts of the digestive system: the colon (which is the large intestine) and the rectum. It is the third most prevalent cancer in the United States, and is the culprit of 10 percent of all cancer deaths. Unfortunately, about 40 percent of the nation’s