Faces of Colon Cancer

My name is Michelle Miller from Royal City, WA and I had emergency surgery on Dec 3rd, just shy of two months since running my first marathon, to remove a golf ball size growth that had blocked my colon. I was 41 years old when I…Read More

My father, Steven Lampson, was diagnosed with colon cancer when he was 80 years old and died of colon cancer in 2001. His birthday was March 23, the day of the run this year (2014). My father was a very successful businessman in Bloomfield, New…Read More

Angelic Hinton was 36 years old when she was first diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer, three days after completing the Vancouver, BC Half Marathon. Within a month, she had surgery to remove the tumor and was preparing for chemo, all while trying to keep…Read More

Anita Mitchell was 41 when she was first diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, after she learned of her family history and immediately got a colonoscopy, which helped downsize the disease to resectable state. She had colon surgery and started on chemotherapy right away. When…Read More

At age 50, Andy Breidenbach's first colonoscopy showed one polyp that was not cancerous. Three years later, another colonscopy showed no polyps, but his appendix was enlarged. A CT scan showed something growing in his appendix. Andy elected to have surgery to remove his appendix,…Read More

Belle Piazza was diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer in 2007. Belle says she lost count of how many surgeries she’s had. Before Christmas 2010, a recurrence was confirmed in her lungs and lymph nodes. She is Mrs. February 2012 in The Colon Club's yearly…Read More

After living with colitis for 10 years, Debby Bayard was diagnosed with colon cancer on March 26, 2002 and was in surgery to remove her colon less than a week later. The first oncologist she met with looked at her chart and told her he…Read More

Cindy Gallagher is a breast cancer survivor who told her oncologist that she often felt tired. She had had a colonoscopy three years prior, but because she was so anemic, she had another one to determine the cause. Her doctors found a bleeding polyp, which…Read More

Galen “G-Unit” Peterson was 54 years old when he was first diagnosed with colon cancer. He fought the battle from December 2006 through October 2009, going through six surgeries(2 colon and 4 liver). Stage 4 when it went from the colon into the liver. After…Read More

Gayle Olsen was 50 when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. From a colonoscopy, doctors discovered she had a tumor almost completely blocking her colon. She had lived a healthy life, growing up enjoying the clean Alaskan water and air and staying active and fit…Read More

In September 2008, Jude Kavalam was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer with metastasis to the lymph nodes and liver. Jude recalls, "After the initial horror and disbelief, my family and I set out to fight this disease. We threw everything we had at it…Read More

Krista Maffia was 33 when she was first diagnosed with colon cancer. It happened shortly after the birth of her third daughter in October 2009. She went through two years of surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation....everything. She was very brave throughout her battle. The cancer spread to…Read More

Meg O’Neill was first diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 47. She was an avid runner and they were shocked to find out that judging by the size of the tumor the cancer had been growing for about eight years undetected. She was…Read More

Dolores "Petsy" Kahn was 75 when she was first diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. A few months later, rather than take a trip to Sweden that she had been looking forward to with her husband, she had the tumor removed. A year and a…Read More

Rich Goade was 34 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, which has a history in his family. He was treated at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and UW Medical before he moved to Utah, where he has continued his care at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Intermountain…Read More

Sherryl Wendling was 44 when she was first diagnosed with colon cancer, after experiencing rectal bleeding. There had been no history of colon cancer in her family, but she found out during initial surgery that she had colorectal cancer stage 2A. She developed peritonitis soon…Read More

Todd Lovern has always done his best to stay in excellent overall health. But in November 2010, while in training for his second marathon, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. Although his family had no history of cancer, he now knows that one…Read More

Tony Kevin was experiencing unusual health symptoms and scheduled a colonoscopy just before he left on a trip to France. After he came home and had the colonoscopy,his doctors quickly discovered that he had a large tumor in his sigmoid colon. Two days later, he…Read More

Tricia Moen was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at age 36. As a producer for Seattle’s KOMO TV mid-day news program, she had the opportunity to advocate for colon cancer awareness through TV and radio interviews. In a series of emails shared with her…Read More

As a nurse at Swedish Medical Center in Cle Elum, Debra Cadiente says she should have guessed that having her heart race and being totally out of breath while going up a snowy hill in December 2010 meant something was wrong. Shortly after the holidays…Read More

Peter Hunt was shocked with his diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer in August 2011, at age 51. A longtime Microsoft employee, he had never taken a sick day or leave of absence. When he turned 50, he delayed the recommended colonoscopy, because he felt…Read More

Phillip Chan was 30 when he was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2009, soon after passing the bar exam. In early 2010, he underwent radiation treatment followed by surgery and then chemotherapy at Swedish Medical Center. His treatments ended in November 2010. Phillip…Read More

A shoulder pain, which had nothing to do with the final diagnoses of stage III colon cancer, led Rhonda Douglas, an employee at Swedish Hospital, down the path of having a colonoscopy. The x-ray revealed problems in her lungs. Rhonda, who had no family history…Read More

Christine Juvonen kept putting off her first colonoscopy. After finally having it done at 51, she was shocked to discover that she had stage II rectal cancer. Radiation and chemotherapy began almost immediately after the diagnoses at Swedish Medical Center in November 2011, followed by…Read More

Paul led a pretty active life, including participating in an Ironman triathlon prior to being diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2013 at the age of 43.  Given his activity level, and having no family history of colon cancer, he ignored symptoms he had…Read More

Written by Katie’s husband Ryan Tinnea My wife Katie was diagnosed with inoperable stage IV colon cancer at the age of 28. She was a teacher, a daughter, a wife, and a mother of an (at the time) 11-month-old little girl. Despite her prognosis, she…Read More