colon cancer: no one likes a colonoscopy, but the alternative is worse

after months of being told by her doctor that she was "pre-cancerous," but not to worry about it, artist jennifer cuthbert got the call she was dreading.

by robin roberts

published mar 19, 2023

4 minute read

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4 minute read

join the conversation

just in time: no one likes a colonoscopy, but the alternative is worse

jennifer cuthbert hopes her story will inspire others to get tested for cancer. supplied

jennifer cuthbert knew something was happening inside her body. feeling unwell and weak, and dealing with uncomfortable gastrointestinal issues, she repeatedly saw her doctor looking for answers. a series of annual colonoscopies found nothing, until a day in 2018, when cuthbert’s doctor told her she was “pre-cancerous,” but not to worry about it. in 2019, after having some polyps biopsied, she got that dreaded call: ‘you have colon cancer.’ thankfully, the disease was caught early enough that surgery was all that was needed — cuthbert was able to avoid chemotherapy and radiation. her message to others is that even though testing for colon cancer is uncomfortable, it’s worth it if it means saving your life. here is her story.

i have been going for annual colonoscopies since i was 45 (i’m 52 now). i started around 2015, because i wasn’t absorbing iron or b12. i was feeling generally unwell, weak, and i had lost a lot of weight through gastrointestinal upset. my red blood cell count was low, and my doctor wasn’t sure of the cause. i tried to take iron orally but it upset my stomach and i wasn’t absorbing it properly either.

my doctor couldn’t find a reason for my illness, so he sent me to an internist. he ordered a fit [fecal immunochemical test, which looks for blood in the stool — an early indicator of cancer], and then the colonoscopy, but i didn’t know why. he recommended i go for an annual colonoscopy. the colonoscopies always came back clear, until one in february 2018, when i was told i was precancerous, but that i shouldn’t worry about it.

a year later, in 2019, they found some polyps, which were biopsied. my doctor again said he wasn’t worried. but two or three weeks later he called said that he was sorry, that he didn’t expect this, but i had colon cancer. he probably hadn’t been overly concerned at first because i was young and didn’t have a family history of cancer.

i was told i would have to have laparoscopic surgery [in which a short, narrow tube fitted with a camera is inserted into a small incision in the belly to check organs, remove damaged or diseased organs, or take tissue for biopsy] to remove the tumour, and that a right hemicolectomy [a procedure that removes the right side of the colon and attaches the small intestine to the remaining portion of the colon] would be done. a portion of my large and small intestine was removed, as well as the iliac, plus 14 lymph nodes, which were biopsied to check for the spread of cancer. it had not spread anywhere. i [was afraid i] might wake up to a colostomy bag [a pouch used to collect bodily waste], or need radiation or chemotherapy, but i didn’t.

i was fine, physically, in about two or three weeks, though it took a little longer for my intestinal tract to be fully normal.

the only medication i’m on is an injection of vitamin b12, which i’ll get every month for the rest of my life. your body needs vitamin b12 to function, but i still can’t absorb it naturally.

for some people it’s difficult to get family doctors and surgeries, but i’m in what they call an access centre here in winnipeg. i have a family doctor, a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner that i see there. if i have a change in doctor, then i get assigned a nurse practitioner. there’s always someone i can see at the access centre. and if they can’t help me they send me to a specialist right off. there might be a waiting period to see that person but i know that i’ll have an appointment coming up. it’s a very good system.

i’m still getting annual colonoscopies, and i’m doing okay. i don’t work anymore; i used to work as a project administrator for a computer network and systems integration company. i’m on disability now, but i live on my own and don’t have health care aids. my family has been extremely supportive; without them i do not know where i would be.

“my illnesses and life’s trials and my art have made me wake up and appreciate my life and be happy for everything that i have,” says colon cancer survivor jennifer cuthbert. supplied

i paint, and that, plus my late cat, were my lifelines through the illnesses (before the cancer, in the early 2000s, i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, diabetes and fibromyalgia). i’m not the best artist but i’m certainly exploring it. my illnesses and life’s trials and my art have made me wake up and appreciate my life and be happy for everything that i have.

i’m cancer-free and i sing the song of getting your fit test and getting colonoscopies done as early as possible, as it could be an easier story for you too if you are preventative. i feel so very sorry for those who are not so fortunate as it’s a more difficult path.

i tell my friends that if they have to get a colonoscopy it’s a very uncomfortable procedure, but once it’s done and over with, it’s no big deal. i would like to encourage people to not fear these tests and know that a diagnosis like this is not bad if found early. i felt so fortunate to have done so and i encourage friends to as well. not everyone listens, but i try.

this story was originally published on april 5, 2022.

do you have a story of how a diagnosis and treatment came “just in time” that you’d like to share? email us at info@healthing.ca.

for more information on colon cancer and to connect with others, resources can be found by visiting colorectal cancer canada and colorectal cancer resource & action network.

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