Blog for a friend; it's personal

I found a dear high school friend I had lost contact with about three weeks ago, after searching for her for more than a year and a half.  I didn't have time to be simply excited about finding her because it was instantly obvious from her Facebook status that she was ill.  Seriously so.  I will not name her here as to protect her privacy, since I did not discuss writing about her in a semi-public forum.  Suffice to say we were friends during our teenager years, dated friends, and were exactly three days apart in age.  

When I learned of her Stage 3 colon cancer, I sobbed.  I called my mom and my sister, who remembered her spending several weekend slumber parties, outings, and youth Bible studies at our house in the '80s.  I cried because I love her and am fearful for this beautiful mother of three.  I cried because she doesn't deserve this.  I cried for our youth---and for better and earlier detection from this horrific disease.

I found her phone number in an online directory, and we reconnected.  It was like we had just parted for a few days---not since 11th grade in 1988.  Her exuberance for life and faith are much stronger than my own, and I have my health.  We will stay in touch now thanks to technology putting us back in touch.

Today, on her Facebook page, she posted the following blog site.

http://www.blogforacure.com/frontend/weblogs/listing.php?type=Colon+and+Rectal+Cancer&p=2

I am asking each of you to check it out.  Many of you may have loved ones suffering from colo-rectal cancer or a similar illness.  Some of you may know someone or be suffering yourselves from an inflammatory bowel disease.  Colon cancer is currently the fourth most common cancer in the United States.

Some of you may be suffering and not even recognize the symptoms.

I know.  I was one of those.  About Thanksgiving time 1997, I got sick.  Really sick. At first it felt like food poisoning.  Then after a week, I decided I must have gotten a bad case of the flu.  Weeks turn into a month, and I was noticeably losing weight and having constant abdominal pain.  Every time I ate I had to immediately excuse myself to the restroom.  Not fun would be the understatement of the year.

I went to a 24-hour clinic and spent a lot of money on a lot medical tests.  After exhausting all their resources, the medical staff said the hundreds of tests they had run produced no diagnosis.  The doctor encouraged me to go to a gastroenterologist.  I had never before been to one.  I was 26.

I was finally diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, for which there is no cure.  I remained ill for the better part of three years, spending more than three weeks in the hospital near death in late 1998.  I have already had more colonoscopies than most people will have in their lifetimes.  I am happy to say I have been in remission for a decade, but I still take my medication three times a day, go to regular check-ups, rarely eat foods that I know are triggers for me.  I take it seriously because I know my life depends on it.  And I know I am one of the lucky ones who caught it early and got treatment.

You see, people who have inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel issues---including Crohn's, diverticulosis, and others, have a much great chance of having treatable conditions become cancer, which can lead to the loss of your colon, wearing a colostomy bag, chemotherapy----or worse--death.  As a young newspaper reporter in Hattiesburg, I lost my publisher in 2000 to colon cancer.  He was a previously healthy man in his mid-40s and ignored the symptoms until it was too late.  

Please don't ignore any symptoms.  If you feel badly after meals, have issues going too often or not going enough, don't wait any longer.  Early treatment can prevent many cancers.  Have a colonoscopy now if you have a family history.  And have a colonoscopy even if you don't, if you are 50 or older.    

My friend was diagnosed earlier this year and has already had several surgeries and rounds of chemo.  Age and family history are on her side. I believe she's a fighter and will beat this.  

You may not be so lucky if you don't treat recurring stomach problems like your life depends on it.  Trust me.  It does.

For more information and statistics about colorectal cancer please visit: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cancer.org%2Facs%2Fgroups%2Fcontent%2F&h=48970@nho/documents/document/f861708finalforwebpdf.pdf