Colon cancer survivor shares story at December Healthy Woman

Dr. Matt Tosh and his wife discuss what to expect from a colonoscopy with a Healthy Woman member at the end of Tosh's presentation, 'Beating Colon Cancer.' [Click to enlarge]

Colon cancer is outnumbered in incidence only by prostate and lung cancer in men and breast and lung cancer in women. It is the second leading cause of death by cancer in America.

Dr. Matt Tosh, who just relocated to the area in July, enlightened Healthy Woman members on the dangers of colon cancer and the importance of early detection in lowering survival rates.

Cancer survivor Kay Curry speaks to the audience at December's Healthy Woman event, 'Beating Colon Cancer,' at the Dyersburg Country Club at the Farms. Curry relayed her own experience with colon cancer and encouraged women to get early screenings. 'I know God has a purpose for me,' said Curry. 'I was spared.' [Click to enlarge]

Colorectal cancer affects approximately 130,000 individuals in the United States, causing more than 45,000 deaths annually. With an increase in early screenings and removal of precancerous polyps, Tosh said cases of colon cancer are slowly declining.

"Incident rates have begun to decline slowly because of screening," said Tosh. "Males are slightly higher than females. (Rates are also) slightly higher in African American males. Colorectal cancer affects all of us, men and women. Nobody can hide from it. The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with CRC is similar in both sexes, 5.9 percent for men and 5.5 percent for women."

Kay Curry is one of that 5.5 percent of women diagnosed with colon cancer. Curry surprised the group at the end of Tosh's presentation with a very personal account of her experience with colorectal cancer.

"Five years, eight months and 25 days ago, I was diagnosed with colon cancer," said Curry. "I was 47 years old when I was diagnosed."

Curry woke up one morning in extreme pain and feared it was her appendix.

"I couldn't stand up," said Curry. "I've got every thing God gave me. Tonsils, everything, so I thought it was my appendix."

Curry was diagnosed with stage II colon cancer three years before the average screening begins.

"I had exploratory surgery," said Curry. "What they found was a tumor the size of a tennis ball that had almost encapsulated and it was pushing on my colon wall. But my lymph nodes were clear. I know God has a purpose for me. I was spared."

Tosh said, if not for early screenings, colon cancer would often go undetected until the cancerous area affected bowel movements, produced blood in the stool or completely blocked the system.

"There are no symptoms for early colon cancer," said Tosh. "It's like a rattlesnake. It sneaks up and bites you. You could have a colonoscopy and find it without symptoms and it could have already spread to stage 4 disease. It's very important to catch it before it gets to that point. It's real hard to pinpoint, that's why we screen."

Symptoms for colon cancer may show up after the early stages, but they do appear. Symptoms of colon cancer include:

- abdominal pain

- bleeding

- constipation

- diarrhea

- anemia

According to Tosh, the good news about colon cancer is that the disease most often arises in pre-existing colonic polyps and it has a long natural history. Many times, identification and early removal of these precancerous lesions, or polyps, can prevent colon cancer.

Tosh discussed various kinds of colon screenings available, recommending a colonoscopy as the gold standard of both detection and care. If polyps are found within the colon, they can be removed while the physician is performing the colonoscopy. Biopsies can also be taken during the procedure.

While not a pleasant experience, Tosh said advances in the procedure and certain anesthesia have made colonoscopies more comfortable for the patient in the past few years. He offered tips for preparing for the test and his opinion on whether to be tested in a doctor's office or hospital.

"It's not as bad as you think," said Tosh, as members of the audience chuckled their disagreement. "We try to make it the most pleasant experience we can. If you can say pleasant. But, if it's uncomfortable and it saves your life, it's worth it."

"When that doctor says, 'You have cancer,' I'll do a colonoscopy every other month if they want me to," said Curry.

For people with regular risk factors, Tosh recommends beginning colonoscopies at age 50 and repeating every 10 years.

Risk factors for colon cancer include:

- age

- prior personal history of colorectal adenoma or colorectal carcinoma

- family history of CRC

- inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis, Crohns)

- potential environmental factors like high fat and low fiber consumption, beer and ale consumption, low dietary selenium and environmental carcinogens and mutagens from colonic bacteria and charbroiled meats.

The overall survival rate for colon cancer is 64 percent. Survival rates for colon cancer by stage at diagnosis include:

- Local spreading (Stage I) - 90 percent

- Regional spreading (Stage II) - 67 percent

- Distant spreading (Stage III) - 10 percent

- unstaged - 35 percent

"Dr. Tosh, thank you so much," said Dyersburg Regional Medical Center Marketing Director Judy Boehmler. "I'm sure you have saved a couple of lives tonight."

Dr. William Matthew Tosh, D.O. is board certified in general and laparoscopic surgery. He can be reached at West Tennessee Surgical, PLC, at 285-4345 or www.wtsurgical.com.

Membership in Healthy Woman is free. To sign up, contact Judy Boehmler at 287-2109, e-mail Judy_Boehmler@ chs.net or register online at www.dyersburgregionalmc.com.

Healthy Woman monthly events are made possible with the support of 2008-2009 partners including Platinum sponsors The State Gazette, Burks Broadcasting; Silver - First Citizens National Bank; Bronze - Security Bank, Alexander Thompson & Arnold PLLC, Dyersburg Electric System; and Table sponsors Colonial DPP, LLC, Burks Beverage, Hilliard Lyons, LLC, First South Bank, City Drug Co. and Family Care.