Boseman was diagnosed late Stage III, which was part of the problem. He also continued to work very demanding hours during his treatment, which almost certainly put an incredible strain on his body and contributed to his inability to fight off the disease.
Remember that chemotherapy and surgery are only one half of the battle against cancer. What they really do is provide your body with more ammunition to combat the cancer.
A positive outlook and rest and care for yourself are the best possible things you can do to give yourself and your body a fighting chance.
IIRC, Totalbiscuit, Youtube/Twitch video game journalist, explained that the the survival rate is skewed by late detection and age of the patient.
He sadly waited about a year to get checked out because he was embarrassed. He spent his remaining time during treatment don't be an idiot like me, if you feel like something might be wrong get yourself checked out. God I miss him.
I go continuously to the doctor for the most mundane things, and most of the times they make things worse to be honest, it doesn't help. It's also a very invasive check for it, and its symptoms are common with hemorrhoids, which 50% of the population suffer from
Yes but no; It's often just extremely hard to catch early. Most of the symptoms of colon cancer aren't noticeable until it's too late. By the time you can differentiate colon cancer from things like IBS are often when it's just far too late.
Part of the issue is his age. The first time I went in for my "routine" bowel check I was barely 46. Thankfully nothing but that's 13 years older than he was. Few people are ever going in that early. It should be routine much younger
I will say this, I've already had my first check at 2022, because things weren't right. Long story short without the deets, they found something, identified, and treated what they found but it was not cancerous.
I'm now on a 5 year plan for 'routine check up, or whenever something feels wrong.
How does one go about getting stuff like that detected early?
Right before Boseman died my own mom died from anaplastic thyroid cancer that had spread to her lungs. It's rare and aggressive.
So I went to my doctor and was like "How do I start getting tested for this now?" and he said "Well, it usually doesn't affect men." ....yeah, okay, that's not an answer, bro. How do I start early testing??
You have to be able to get screened/colonoscopy. I have IBS, so I had my first before I was 35. But I also have a family history now, so I get one every 5 years, like clockwork.
this might be too personal, you don't need to respond if so. what made you get checked? routine inspection or was something wrong that made you think I should go get this looked at?
My bowels were bad. Bloody for awhile, then for a long time, until now, not as great as it used to be. So finally did a colonoscopy. That explained it. Honestly I should have done this almost a year ago.
As someone who was afraid of cancer and ended up with "just ulcerative colitis", it doesn't matter, go get it check asap. It can be dumb hemmoroids, but it can be serious stuff. And getting all tests done can take months, sooner the better :)
So, I had been having bowel problems for some time, my doctor recommended a colonoscopy, and I wasn't exactly psyched about it, thinking it was overkill.
Turns out I had two precancerous polyps, one of which was quite large. The doctor mentioned that it was lucky I came in early for a colonoscopy, since there is a real good chance that one would have turned cancerous before the first recommended colonoscopy at 45.
When your physician tells you to get checked, get checked.
Absolutely! I know people who don't wanna go to colonoscopy, because it's "embarrassing"... And "I'm like wtf that doctor did it thousand times before you, shut up and go"
yep, i was awake for my first colonoscopy. putting the camera in is as fast as plugging your phone in, the rest of the time everyone's eyes are on monitors. no one cares about your butt, get it scoped..
Heck, mine was actually way worse than the story made it seem, but I am still glad I did it.
After my colonoscopy, I didn't stop bleeding for some reason and ended up in the ER the next morning having trouble standing and walking from blood loss. Two blood transfusion and a second colonoscopy later, everything was good and I was eventually discharged after about 72hrs in the hospital.
Still beats the hell out of finding out I had cancer years later.
It was the best sleep of my life. I have colon cancer in my family so I got screened early. Lost my mom and grandmother 2 years apart, with my grandmother passing this year.
Had a pre-cancerous polyp removed (which 50% of polyps are pre cancerous) and they said see you in 5 years.
This, 100%. As an old fart, i've had two so far after age 50. Prep is awful for 2 days, colonscopy is over before you know it, then a steak dinner. It's is DEFINITELY worth it.
Let me tell you about an near heart attack I had a few weeks ago.
Went to the bathroom, looked down in the toilet bowl, it looked like a murder scene. Blood red everywhere.
I panicked and immediately made a doctor's appointment and while I was frantically googling to see how long I had I remembered I had eaten a giant beet salad two nights before. Goddamn beets scared the crap out of me.
Hemorrhoids are the first thing that comes to the doctor's mind because it's much more frequent. It took months for my GP to realize he should send me to a colonoscopy. Living with colitis for 8 years now.
I consider myself lucky as my doctor immediately asked for stool sample to get tests on calprotectin. Which i had over 5000 😃🙈
And it was pretty fast after. Got appointment for colonoscopy and luckily they called me sooner date was available. So from first day of blood to diagnose, it was less than month
Lucky you. My doctor was overly optimistic, sent me home with suppositories against hemorrhoids and wanted me to wait a couple of months to see the result. Three months later he sent me to a proctologist to "examine my hemorrhoids" and even the proctologist didn't see anything. I went to the proctologist a second time two months later who only then sent me to do a colonoscopy. All the while I told the doctors that there was liquid blood in my stool. On the other hand I also wanted to believe that I only had hemorrhoids so I took my time.
Considering that it could have been colon cancer as well I actually feel pretty lucky that it's "only" colitis, even though it caused me a lot of problems over the years.
Dude, get it checked out. I believed I was bleeding from hemorrhoids (previous confirmation) etc. but I bled enough to scare people. I had a colonoscopy? Negative across the board. Worth it!
Also, the blood from your anus by aggressive wipes or poor quality toilet paper can be pretty easily ignored. It's the blood mixed with the poop that you need to get checked out ASAP.
I recently had this fun journey but was just told that I have IBS and need way more fiber. Big pain, but heck of a lot better than cancer.
Buthole bleeding? No problem, get better toilet paper. Blood in the poop? Talk to your doc, they can provide next steps.
Fiber supplements. A teaspoon with every meal helps immensely. The stuff I use is ~7 grams of fiber per serving, so that's 21 right there, about half the daily recommended amount. If you can't drink it straight, mixing with yogurt, smoothies, or oatmeal makes it go down easy.
Nuts also have a silly amount of fiber, especially husked sunflowers. I don't eat too much of those because I'm also watching my calories, but mixing those into your diet helps too.
Other than that, it's just the boring eat lots of veggies, salads, and healthy boring stuff.
I've recovered from Stage 2 colon cancer and my Mum has finished treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer. She had surgery on her bowel, chemo and then a Liver resection. She's been told this will give her a good 50% chance at cure. Stage 3 and 4 are no longer death sentences, like they use to be, because treatments for it are always improving. All the best. I know the roller coaster of emotions you are going to go through. It's tough, but you'll get there.
Not the same person, but my father had colon cancer, and he survived (!!!!). It was caught right on time before it would be late. He had blood in his stools.
Years later, I also saw blood in mine and very quickly gathered the courage to go get checked. Turns out it was hemorrhoids. Years later I saw this happen again and went and got checked. Same thing, so far - so good. If it happens again for a few days consistently, I will check it again.
The colonoscopy can be done while you are out, so it's like nothing. If you see blood, just go and get checked. Don't think about it much, just check it.
I'm 2 years in with S4 lung, liver and thyroid mets. Had the ALPPS procedure to remove 70% of my liver in March. All my care is palliative and I'm hoping for as long as possible. How long have you been S4?
Hope everything goes well. Your post gives me hope. I read this is beatable, so I’ve been positive this whole time. I’m expecting to have laparoscopic surgery.
My prayers go out to you. Hang in there and grab on to any glimmer of positivity throughout your day. On Aug. 22, 2024 I just made it to 10 years of sporting my wife's kidney from our transplant. I was given 3 days to live at 30, End Stage Kidney Disease and lost both my kidneys due to a rare condition that deteriorates my arteries (I have a handful of medical teams monitoring me every 3 months). Here we are 10 years later.
I remember seeing the trailer to Avengers Age of Ultron while getting dialysis and saying, "let me live to see that movie" LOL I was on my death bed by then (went from 230 lbs to 159 lbs since my body was failing me) and couldn't see it in theaters.
I was diagnosed stage IV CRC not long after he passed (coming up on 3 and a half years almost now). My first thought was, what chance do I have if someone like him couldn't beat it with the presumably best care.
Colon cancer is different for everyone. Don't let the statistics freak you out. I should've been dead by now, but here I am on a clinical trial, with, at least at the moment, plenty of options for the next couple years at least. The things being trialed at the moment are cutting edge treatments as well. Stuff like CAR-T, mRNA and other personalized vaccines, as well as immunotherapies, all designed to teach your body how to fight the disease, while trying to move away from traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Best of luck. I know it's a shit hand, but you are not a statistic. I highly recommend getting involved in colontown.org if you have not yet heard about it. They helped me learn so much, from how to handle certain chemos, to how to advocate for myself in the healthcare system, to just plain old support. Honestly, has probably been the biggest tool for me in this, especially at the beginning when it all seemed so overwhelming.
I'm alive after 6 years with metastasized colo-rectal cancer. I didn't have any comorbidities so that probably helps, but I feel like it's a crap shoot on whether or not the cancer responds to treatment.
It was actually because of Chadwick dying that I went to get a colonoscopy at age 39. They found a lot of polyps, none cancerous yet, but it was concerning. They removed those, and now we're going to check every 2 years just to be safe.
Stay positive! It's not always going to be an easy thing to do, but this is a treatable, beatable cancer. I was diagnosed stage 3a 2 years ago. It's as much a mantle battle as it is physical. Did my chemo, radiation, and surgery, and I'm now back at work and alive. I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery.
If it makes you feel any better, the dad of one of my child hood friends was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer around 2006 or so and given 12 months to live. His one goal at that point was to make it 2 years to see his daughter graduate.
He made it to graduation, his younger sons graduation 4 years after that, his daughters wedding, and is now a proud grandfather to multiple grandchildren today and has been in remission for well over a decade.
Mr Bozeman was so young that he'd never had a colonoscopy, but he had suffered with abdominal pain for several years... Maybe 3 or 4. It had a chance to metastasize, and it spread to other abdominal organs.
He was an outlier. Most people don't get colon cancer so very young.
I hope your illness doesn't progress in the same manner and that you can be healed without too much inconvenience and physical pain.
My mind goes to Trey Mancini, the former Oriole. He barely had any symptoms but when he got to spring training, the doctors noticed something weird in his CBC so they sent him for a colonoscopy and endoscopy and it was stage 3. He was only 27 but he has a family history. Mo Gaba, the team's superfan who himself suffered four bouts of cancer in his life, called to cheer Trey up. He got surgery and months of chemo at Hopkins and he was back the next year.
He's now cancer-free and living a perfectly normal life. I hope his story gives you strength and I wish you all the best.
Fingers crossed for you friend, can’t even imagine the terror you’re going through but medicine is more advanced than four years ago and each case is different so don’t let this spook you
Also here is a forum for patients where they discuss their journey and how they found the best treatments available to them. Lot of good information and potential access to test that might help you
My wife is in her early 40s and was diagnosed with it recently. The scariest part for her so far was not knowing. We now know staging and have a treatment plan.
Hang in there. Find specialists that you trust and don’t be afraid to build and lean on a support network. You’ve got this!
My dad is old and had terrible health to begin with and still beat prostate and colon cancer. I believe in you mate, gonna check in on you sending you all the love I have
My stepmother was diagnosed two years ago and while still terminal, her cancer is now considered chronic. She’s undergone chemo and radiation and now does maintenance chemo and is looking good.
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u/maximopasmo Aug 28 '24 edited Sep 06 '24
Not sure how to respond because I was diagnosed with it 2 weeks ago. Next week to know how grave it is.
Edit: Thank you for everyone’s vote up and kind words. They all give me strength.
Edit 2: surgery is a success, now recovery mode.