Mike Woellert had heard people talk about colonoscopies. He didn’t hesitate, and it may have saved his life. 

Friday, March 27, marked the one-year anniversary of Michael Woellert’s colorectal cancer diagnosis. It’s a day he and his wife, Malissa, remember all too well.

“I was one of the last people to be called from the waiting room after Mike’s colonoscopy,” Malissa recalls. “I sensed something was wrong.” A nurse brought Malissa to Mike’s room, and the two of them, while viewing the ultrasound video in which a mass could clearly be seen, were told it was colorectal cancer.

The conversation was anything but clinical, however. “The doctor who had done the procedure, was tearing up while informing us of the results,” Malissa says. “I felt compassion all around me at that moment.”

Mike tried to lighten the mood with a joke. But Malissa says that even so, after hearing the diagnosis, she felt as if she had been kicked in the chest. She tried to contain her emotions, but felt the need to step out of the room momentarily to regain composure, knowing she wanted to return and provide support to Mike. 

“As I stepped outside of the room, I started to break down. From all around me, people came to offer care and support. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Words can’t describe the amount of empathy I felt coming from the staff who were offering their assistance,” Malissa says.

So she went back into the room, and together, the couple faced what was in store for them in the coming months, which included chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery to remove a portion of Mike’s colon.

Mike’s surgeon was Eric Dozois, M.D., a consultant in Colon and Rectal Surgery at Mayo Clinic, who became a very special person to both Mike and Malissa. “He was very friendly,” Mike says. “Besides being an absolutely phenomenal surgeon,” Malissa adds, “we were impressed with how he treated us like family, not just another patient.  He exudes a warmth that has a trickle-down effect upon all the staff around him.”

Malissa, who is an appointment coordinator at Mayo Clinic, says that over the years, she has heard the positive experiences of other patients, but that she came to a new appreciation for the staff and what they do to make patients feel comfortable and well cared for. “It was a scary time, but they took the time to explain the procedures, to make sure Mike understood them, and then followed through every time,” she says. “They made us feel like we are all on the same team, fighting for Mike to pull through.”

After Mike’s diagnosis, it was initially difficult to talk about colorectal cancer. He and Malissa say it felt like a taboo subject – one that people don’t talk about as freely as they might with other cancers.

But through talking about it with the doctors, nurses and other staff, they say, the stigma was reduced and their comfort level increased.

Mike says he realizes that stigma, as well as the fact that people may be afraid to have a colonoscopy, may cause some to put off what could be a life-saving procedure. He and Malissa both encourage people to not let fear keep them from an important preventive measure.

“I had heard the stories from others who had gone through it,” Mike says. “But it’s not that bad, and it’s important to get checked before the disease progresses.”

Mayo Clinic is the social media partner for the Fight Colorectal Cancer community's #StrongArmSelfie campaign. The idea is to raise awareness of colon cancer prevention and screening by encouraging people to take a “selfie” with their best “strong arm” pose and then post it online using the hashtag. During March, colorectal cancer awareness month, Sharing Mayo Clinic will feature several patients participating in the campaign and sharing their stories. Mayo Clinic also released a music video to accompany the #StrongArmSelfie campaign. 

Share Your Mayo Story. Are you interested in sharing your Mayo Clinic experience with others? If so, we'd love to hear from you. You can use this Web form to share your story yourself, or email us, and we’ll help you share your story.

HELPFUL LINKS

• Learn more about colorectal cancer.
• Examine the risk factors.
• Explore the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.
• Request an appointment.

The post Strong Advice From a Colorectal Cancer Patient appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

The majority of people diagnosed with colon cancer are older than 50. Kelly Barnard was just 19 years old when she got an unwelcome Valentine’s Day surprise. Her stomach pain turned out to be something much more serious.

Among cancer's many negative qualities is the seemingly indiscriminate way the disease manifests itself. Cancer doesn’t care what your race, gender or ethnicity is. It doesn't care about your profession where you live or your family situation. And it doesn't necessarily care about your age. Just ask Kelly Barnard.

Kelly's cancer story began when she was just 19 years old. Then a freshman at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, she began feeling intense stomach pain one day in her dorm room. And while she tells the Duluth Tribune she'd "felt some little twinges of pain" in her stomach before, those were nothing like the pain she felt just before Valentine's Day 2013. "It was horrendous," she tells the newspaper. "I couldn't walk. I couldn't move." 

What Kelly could do, however, was call her mom, Beth LaVigne, who drove to Kelly's dorm and whisked her off to a local emergency room. There, doctors told her something she never expected to hear. "They said it looked like my ovary had basically exploded, for lack of a better word," she says. Kelly underwent emergency surgery to remove a cyst from her ovary and was then sent home to recover.

Four days later, on Valentine's Day, Kelly's phone rang. Her doctor said she wanted her to come back to the hospital and had more unexpected news. Kelly had colon cancer, and it was "metastatic" and had spread to her ovary. "I was in shock," Kelly says. "I felt like maybe I'd heard the doctor wrong or that she was mistaken."

But there was no mistake. After telling Kelly how sorry she was to have to deliver such distressing news, the doctor said a surgeon was waiting just down the hall to meet with Kelly and her mother. "My mom and I took a few minutes to cry and hug before going to that appointment," Kelly says. "I don't think I fully understood what my diagnosis meant or how serious it was." But she adds, "I don't remember ever being so scared."

After reviewing Kelly's diagnosis, the surgeon suggested they "take some time" before implementing a treatment plan against her cancer. "They were deciding whether to implant a stent and start chemo immediately or surgically remove the tumor from my descending colon," Kelly says. Time wasn't exactly something Kelly or her mom thought they could spare, so they called Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus for a second opinion. "They told us to come immediately," Kelly says.

"Being accepted by Mayo was such a bitter sweet moment," Kelly says. "I was thrilled to be able to have such prestigious and well-known doctors looking at my case, but at the same time, I knew it meant my case was extremely life threatening."

At Mayo, Kelly met with colon and rectal surgeon Robert Cima, M.D., who decided that immediate, and aggressive, surgery would be her best chance for survival, especially given her young age. But Kelly says nothing happened until Dr. Cima and his team were absolutely sure that she understood, and was comfortable with, everything that was about to happen. "When they decided to perform the emergency surgery to remove the tumor, the surgical team was so calming and reassuring," Kelly says. "I always felt safe and that I was in the best care possible. Whenever I felt anxious they would distract me by telling me about themselves and asking me questions to help keep my mind off of the unpleasantness."

Fortunately for Kelly, Dr. Cima and his surgical team were able to successfully remove her tumor. What's more, the cancer has been kept at bay for the two years since, which as Dr. Cima tells the paper, is good news for her long-term prognosis. "What we do know is 85 percent of all recurrences occur within the first two years," Dr. Cima says. "She's two years out with no clinical evidence of recurrence. Each day is a win."

Those wins, Kelly says, couldn't have come without her care team at Mayo. "Everyone was so friendly and made sure I knew what was going on at all times," she says. "I feel like the needs of myself and my family were exceeded. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Cima and his team. They saved my life."

And they did it all, Kelly says, while keeping her best interest, and her quality of life, at the forefront of every decision about her care. "Even though I came to Mayo because of a terminal illness, I have nothing but positive memories of being there," she says. " And even now when I go back for follow up appointments, everyone seems so excited to see me and to see how far I've come. I would recommend Mayo Clinic a thousand times over to anyone dealing with a similar condition."

Mayo Clinic is the social media partner for the Fight Colorectal Cancer community's #StrongArmSelfie campaign. The idea is to raise awareness of colon cancer prevention and screening by encouraging people to take a “selfie” with their best “strong arm” pose and then post it online using the hashtag. During March, colorectal cancer awareness month, Sharing Mayo Clinic will feature several patients participating in the campaign and sharing their stories. Mayo Clinic also released a music video to accompany the #StrongArmSelfie campaign. 

HELPFUL LINKS

• Learn more about colon cancer.
• Examine the risk factors.
• Explore the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.
• Request an appointment.

The post Battling Colon Cancer at an Unexpected Age appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Mayo Brothers Flex against Colorectal Cancer in “Stronger Than That” Video 

Mayo Clinic’s founders join patient activists, celebrities, employees from all three Mayo Clinic sites and two iconic American statues in a new music video supporting the #StrongArmSelfie campaign to promote colorectal cancer screening.

The video is based on “Stronger Than That,” the song BBR Music Group's Craig Campbell wrote and recorded to support the Fight Colorectal Cancer awareness campaign. Campbell is donating all proceeds from download sales of the song to @FightCRC, and Bayer Healthcare is giving @FightCRC $1 for each #StrongArmSelfie photo or brief video posted publicly to Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Flickr or Vine, up to a maximum of $25,000.

The Mayo Clinic production combines video clips of Mayo staff and #StrongArmSelfie social network posts to illustrate Campbell’s anthem. It also includes animations of the Statue of Liberty, the Lincoln Memorial and an iconic statue of William J. Mayo, M.D. and Charles H. Mayo, M.D. It’s available on Mayo Clinic’s YouTube channel.

MEDIA CONTACT: Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AlSU-f-qm4
 

“The Mayo brothers were preeminent social networkers,” explains Farris Timimi, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist and medical director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. “Their goal was to reduce the burden of disease everywhere. Before his death in 1939, Dr. Will traveled to 25 countries – from Australia and Argentina to Russia and Sweden – to connect with professional colleagues and share knowledge. Today we’re using modern tools to make connections that formerly required arduous travel by train and steamship. We’re convinced Dr. Will and Dr. Charlie would fully support harnessing the latest technology to fight disease and promote health.”

“We hope our video will stimulate both song downloads and #StrongArmSelfie posts, but our main goal is to stimulate conversations,” says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, M.D., “Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of deaths from cancers that affect both men and women, and yet with appropriate screening it is among the most preventable.

“For the general population, colorectal cancer screening should start at age 50.  For people at increased risk, including African Americans and individuals with a family history of colorectal cancer, screening should start at a younger age, after discussion with your doctor. About one-third of those who should be screened currently aren’t; hopefully this campaign will help change that,” Dr. Limburg concludes.

The Fight Colorectal Cancer campaign page includes links to educational resources from Mayo Clinic, as well as a video of Dr. Limburg outlining screening options. On Wednesday, March 25 at noon Central time, Mayo Clinic will host a live educational webinar featuring Dr. Limburg. He will share the latest information on colon cancer prevention and screening, and host a live question and answer session. Register to attend here.

The campaign, which officially launched March 3 when Campbell rang the closing bell at NASDAQ, runs through August.

###

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to medical research and education, and providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. For more information, visit http://mayocl.in/1ohJTMS, or https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/. 

About Fight Colorectal Cancer

Fight Colorectal Cancer is a leading colorectal cancer nonprofit in Washington, D.C. Through patient education, advocacy and research funding the group spreads awareness and demands a cure for the second-leading killer in the United States. As the leading advocacy group, the organization serves as a resource for colorectal cancer patients, grassroots advocates, policy makers, medical professionals and health care providers. Learn more at http://www.FightColorectalCancer.org.

About Craig Campbell 

Craig Campbell launched on to the Country music scene with the release of his self-titled debut album (2011) delivering the hits “Family Man,” “Fish,” and “When I Get It.” To date, he has logged four consecutive charted hits with over a billion radio airplay audience impressions and over a half million downloads. Acclaimed as one of the genre's most neo-traditionalist singers, his Top 15 breakout debut “Family Man” was featured on HBO’s True Blood and the top-selling fan-favorite “Fish” has tallied nearly 400,000 digital copies sold. Most recently, Campbell earned his first Top 10 smash with the infectious “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” from his sophomore album NEVER REGRET (2013) produced by Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) and Matt Rovey (CCMA Album Of The Year Producer).

The gifted songwriter co-penned six of the tracks on the twelve-song project. Prior to landing his first record deal, the Lyons, GA native spent time on the road playing keyboard for both Tracy Byrd and Luke Bryan - shows that inspired him nightly. He was soon discovered while playing a regular gig at the downtown Nashville honky-tonk, The Stage. Campbell has been playing his own headlining shows nationwide, with regular performances at the Grand Ole Opry and shared the stage with artists such as Alan Jackson, The Band Perry, Jerrod Niemann and Justin Moore. Recently signing to BBR Music Group’s RED BOW RECORDS roster and Magic Mustang Music arm for publishing, the talented singer will be releasing a new single in early 2015. For more information, visit www.craigcampbell.tv.

The post Fighting Colorectal Cancer With a #StrongArmSelfie appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Miss the show?  Here's the podcast:  MayoClinicRadio PODCAST March 21 2015

Myth or Matter-of-Fact: African-Americans are at the same risk as other groups for colon cancer.

To listen to the program at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 21, click here.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is available on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

To find and listen to archived shows, click here.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Colon Cancer Awareness/Brain Injury/Palliative Care appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Twelve years after her diagnosis, Jane Jacobs knows the value of finding and treating colon cancer early and is participating in Fight Colorectal Cancer's #StrongArmSelfie campaign.

Jane Jacobs understands the squeamishness some people have as they consider going through tests to check for colon cancer. "No one wants to think about or talk about their colon," she says. "You don't see it. Its job is hardly glamorous. It tends to be part of the body people would rather forget about."

But after being diagnosed and successfully treated for early-stage colon cancer at age 40, Jane, who works in Media Support Services at Mayo Clinic, strongly encourages others to get past their hesitancy and get a colonoscopy.

"The bottom line is that the colon cancer screening process is not as bad as people make it out to be," she says. "It's a fairly straightforward test that can make the difference between an early diagnosis, when the disease can often be more easily treated, and a severe, sometimes life-threatening, illness." 

Family ties

Jane knows firsthand how serious colon cancer can be. Two of her close family members had colon cancer. Although she was aware of the disease and knew the difficult consequences, Jane didn't think too much about how that family history might have an impact on her own health — until she came to work at Mayo Clinic in the late 1990s. Her new primary care doctor noted her family background and recommended a colonoscopy. Jane didn't jump at the opportunity.

"I was 38. My kids were little. I kept thinking, 'Oh yeah. I have to find time to do that,'" she says. "The time went by. I didn't get around to it. When I turned 40, my doctor insisted that I couldn't put it off anymore."

That time, she followed his advice and is forever grateful that she did. The colonoscopy revealed stage 2 adenocarcinoma colon cancer.

Timely, successful care

Surprised to get the diagnosis, Jane did take comfort in the outlook her care team at Mayo Clinic spelled out for her. She needed surgery, but she wouldn’t require radiation or chemotherapy. In April 2003, surgeons removed several centimeters of Jane's colon where the cancer was found. Since then, she has had regular follow-up exams to monitor for a recurrence, but no additional cancer has appeared.

"I feel like I'm a poster child for early screening," she says. "They found the cancer and took it out. That's it. If I had waited longer to get that colonoscopy, it may have been a much different story."

She gives credit to the persistence of her doctor and the experience of all those on her Mayo Clinic care team for recognizing that her situation required attention.

"I don't know that I would have gone through with a colonoscopy when I was that young if my doctor wouldn't have impressed on me how important it was," Jane says. "I think that's a big part of the care at Mayo Clinic. There are a lot of really smart, really caring people here who have figured this stuff out. They have seen this time and time again. The collective wisdom they have from doing this hundreds or maybe thousands of times benefitted me. Every patient that comes through the door at Mayo Clinic is standing on the experience that their providers have gained from all the people that came before. And yet, I never felt like just a number in a big group. They had concern for me as the individual who was sitting in front of them."

A fresh perspective

Reflecting on her cancer diagnosis and treatment more than a decade later, Jane doesn't define herself by what she went through at that time. She does, however, feel the experience has informed her outlook on life. Having cancer when she was 40 gave her a unique opportunity to gain some perspective on the way she wants to live.

"In a way, I think that it was a luxury for me to be diagnosed early," she says. "I'm not looking back on my life regretting what I should have done now that I have the perspective that I do. I can move forward with this understanding and live in a way that puts value on the things that are truly important to me. When I look at it that way, I think of getting colon cancer when I was younger as a kind of gift."

For others shying away from the prospect of colon cancer screening, Jane encourages them to take a different perspective, too.

"I really think it's how you put your head in the game," she says. "If you put a priority on wellness and health, getting a colonoscopy when you need to fits right in. Think of it as a cleansing process and a chance to re-evaluate and reset your priorities."

Mayo Clinic is the social media partner for the Fight Colorectal Cancer community's #StrongArmSelfie campaign. The idea is to raise awareness of colon cancer prevention and screening by encouraging people to take a “selfie” with their best “strong arm” pose and then post it online using the hashtag. During March, colorectal cancer awareness month, Sharing Mayo Clinic will feature several patients participating in the campaign and sharing their stories. Mayo Clinic also released a music video to accompany the #StrongArmSelfie campaign, and Jane is featured in the video. 

HELPFUL LINKS

• Learn more about colon cancer.
• Examine the risk factors.
• Explore the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.
• Request an appointment.

The post This Selfie Brought to You by Colon Cancer Screening appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.