Lacey Fulton- My Story!
by Lacey Fulton- My Story!
In July 2009, my fiancé proposed to me and I was the happiest a girl could be. In September 2009, I ran my second marathon, only missing the Boston marathon qualifying time by 1 minute and 17 seconds. I was so bummed but I knew I would make it someday. However, that someday would have to wait. Two months after the race, I started having some cramping in my stomach. At first, it was just pain that only happened about twice a day, it would come and go pretty quickly. I thought it was just a little gas pain. As time passed, the pain happened more often and was more intense. Other than that, those were my only symptoms until the pain started keeping me up at night. It is crazy to me that just two months prior to the news I was about to hear, I was in the best shape of my life and “thought” I was as healthy as ever.
I went to the doctor for the pain, I was prescribed anti-spasm pills, and was told to stop eating/drinking lactose. She said that if the pain continued that they would go ahead and schedule a CAT scan. The pain only intensified, so my CAT scan was scheduled for December 29th, 2009. On December 15th, I hung up the phone with my fiancé (Seth). I was about to fall asleep when I shot up in bed in excruciating pain. It was the pain that had normally came and then went away, but this time it never went away. Seth lived in Grinnell and my dad only lived a mile away, so he came over and took me to the ER. I had a CAT scan and ended up being admitted because the scan showed I had an intussusception, which was what was causing my pain. The next day, I was scheduled for a barium enema (that was not pleasantJ). This was to fix the intussusception and it worked for a short period of time but about two hours later I was right back in horrible pain. So, that night I prepped for a colonoscopy. After the procedure was when my family and I received the news, I had cancer. That same night I went into surgery to remove the tumor. The hope was for the tumor to have not spread to any of the surrounding tissue. The tumor and 10 inches of my colon were removed. A few days later, Dr. Prasad (the surgeon) came in and talked me to tell me that the tumor was in stage 3. He said that they took out 41 lymph nodes around the tumor and 4 of those were cancerous. My heart sunk and fear began to overtake me. I never imagined I would be talking to an oncologist at any age, let alone age 28. I am so thankful that Dr. Prasad was on-call the night I went into the hospital. He was so proactive on all of my procedures and then immediately got me into surgery once he found the cancer. He was so kind and empathetic towards what I was going through. He is a Dr. I will never forget.
After I found out I had cancer, I had so many negative thoughts consuming me. I was so scared that I would not be able to marry Seth and grow old together. It terrified me that I may not be able to be a mom someday. The oncologist told me I would need to go through chemotherapy. I would receive 12 rounds of chemo, each round would be every other week. I would be doing chemo treatments for about 6 months.
I went home 4 days after my surgery and went back to work for the start of the new semester. Two weeks later I had my port put it, which is how my chemo would infuse. Every other weekend I received chemo over a time period of 46 hours. I will say, that they could make those fancy bags that carry the chemo a bit more fashionable since I had to carry it around nonstop for almost two days J. From the middle of January 2010 to July 2010, I received my 12 chemo treatments. I tried to keep a positive focus through out this time, and it was very hard at times, but the support of my family, friends, and especially my fiancé gave me hope and they did not let me even have time to think negatively.
A passion of mine is running and Dam to Dam was in June. I had not missed this race since 2005 and I was not going to let cancer ruin my streak. Seth and I trained throughout the Spring around my chemo schedule. After my 9th round of chemo Seth, 4 of my bridesmaids, and I ran Dam to Dam (20K). We all wore royal blue in support of colon cancer. It met the world to me for my closest friends and fiancé to run by my side. They will never know how much they really touched my life that day. Friendship is a beautiful thing. I have endured many competitions in my life, but crossing that particular finish line that year was one of my greatest accomplishments that will always mean so much to me. After my 10th round of chemo, I married the man of my dreams. It was the most amazing day and I felt more alive than ever! I was so happy and blessed for my life. Following our wedding I had two more rounds of chemo and then we went on our much needed vacation/honey moon to the Dominican Republic.
I had a PET scan and my second colonoscopy in August of 2010, they both came back negative for cancer. 7 months after my last round of chemo I had my chemo port taken out. Even though the port never bothered me, it was such a relief to get it removed. It signified another step to being cancer free. In April of 2011, my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first child. Liam was born in December of 2011. Almost 2 years after Liam arrived, we were blessed with our second son, Oliver. I cannot put into words the happiness they bring to our lives. They are both just so amazing in every single way.
Many people ask me if I have a family history of colon cancer, especially since I was only 28 at the time of my diagnosis. My grandpa was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer when he was 64. That is the only known cancer in my family. I have been through 3 rounds of genetic testing. Right now they say I have “presumptive” Lynch Syndrome. The reason it is presumptive, is because all of the genetic testing that I have had has came back negative for this mutated gene. However, when the tumor was tested, that also came back negative for sporadic cancer. Therefore, I will be screened as if I have Lynch Syndrome until more advanced genetic testing comes out. Hopefully someday I will be able to have a more definitive answer.
I would like to thank my friends and family for their unconditional support and love. They are truly the ones that were instrumental in my survival and will continue to be in the future, especially my husband Seth. I wouldn’t be the survivor I am today if it were not for his love, caring heart, and positive personality. Also, thank you to all of the organizations and support groups that are dedicated to help raise awareness for colon cancer and all other types of cancers. We need you!
In July 2009, my fiancé proposed to me and I was the happiest a girl could be. In September 2009, I ran my second marathon, only missing the Boston marathon qualifying time by 1 minute and 17 seconds. I was so bummed but I knew I would make it someday. However, that someday would have to wait. Two months after the race, I started having some cramping in my stomach. At first, it was just pain that only happened about twice a day, it would come and go pretty quickly. I thought it was just a little gas pain. As time passed, the pain happened more often and was more intense. Other than that, those were my only symptoms until the pain started keeping me up at night. It is crazy to me that just two months prior to the news I was about to hear, I was in the best shape of my life and “thought” I was as healthy as ever.
I went to the doctor for the pain, I was prescribed anti-spasm pills, and was told to stop eating/drinking lactose. She said that if the pain continued that they would go ahead and schedule a CAT scan. The pain only intensified, so my CAT scan was scheduled for December 29th, 2009. On December 15th, I hung up the phone with my fiancé (Seth). I was about to fall asleep when I shot up in bed in excruciating pain. It was the pain that had normally came and then went away, but this time it never went away. Seth lived in Grinnell and my dad only lived a mile away, so he came over and took me to the ER. I had a CAT scan and ended up being admitted because the scan showed I had an intussusception, which was what was causing my pain. The next day, I was scheduled for a barium enema (that was not pleasantJ). This was to fix the intussusception and it worked for a short period of time but about two hours later I was right back in horrible pain. So, that night I prepped for a colonoscopy. After the procedure was when my family and I received the news, I had cancer. That same night I went into surgery to remove the tumor. The hope was for the tumor to have not spread to any of the surrounding tissue. The tumor and 10 inches of my colon were removed. A few days later, Dr. Prasad (the surgeon) came in and talked me to tell me that the tumor was in stage 3. He said that they took out 41 lymph nodes around the tumor and 4 of those were cancerous. My heart sunk and fear began to overtake me. I never imagined I would be talking to an oncologist at any age, let alone age 28. I am so thankful that Dr. Prasad was on-call the night I went into the hospital. He was so proactive on all of my procedures and then immediately got me into surgery once he found the cancer. He was so kind and empathetic towards what I was going through. He is a Dr. I will never forget.
After I found out I had cancer, I had so many negative thoughts consuming me. I was so scared that I would not be able to marry Seth and grow old together. It terrified me that I may not be able to be a mom someday. The oncologist told me I would need to go through chemotherapy. I would receive 12 rounds of chemo, each round would be every other week. I would be doing chemo treatments for about 6 months.
I went home 4 days after my surgery and went back to work for the start of the new semester. Two weeks later I had my port put it, which is how my chemo would infuse. Every other weekend I received chemo over a time period of 46 hours. I will say, that they could make those fancy bags that carry the chemo a bit more fashionable since I had to carry it around nonstop for almost two days J. From the middle of January 2010 to July 2010, I received my 12 chemo treatments. I tried to keep a positive focus through out this time, and it was very hard at times, but the support of my family, friends, and especially my fiancé gave me hope and they did not let me even have time to think negatively.
A passion of mine is running and Dam to Dam was in June. I had not missed this race since 2005 and I was not going to let cancer ruin my streak. Seth and I trained throughout the Spring around my chemo schedule. After my 9th round of chemo Seth, 4 of my bridesmaids, and I ran Dam to Dam (20K). We all wore royal blue in support of colon cancer. It met the world to me for my closest friends and fiancé to run by my side. They will never know how much they really touched my life that day. Friendship is a beautiful thing. I have endured many competitions in my life, but crossing that particular finish line that year was one of my greatest accomplishments that will always mean so much to me. After my 10th round of chemo, I married the man of my dreams. It was the most amazing day and I felt more alive than ever! I was so happy and blessed for my life. Following our wedding I had two more rounds of chemo and then we went on our much needed vacation/honey moon to the Dominican Republic.
I had a PET scan and my second colonoscopy in August of 2010, they both came back negative for cancer. 7 months after my last round of chemo I had my chemo port taken out. Even though the port never bothered me, it was such a relief to get it removed. It signified another step to being cancer free. In April of 2011, my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first child. Liam was born in December of 2011. Almost 2 years after Liam arrived, we were blessed with our second son, Oliver. I cannot put into words the happiness they bring to our lives. They are both just so amazing in every single way.
Many people ask me if I have a family history of colon cancer, especially since I was only 28 at the time of my diagnosis. My grandpa was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer when he was 64. That is the only known cancer in my family. I have been through 3 rounds of genetic testing. Right now they say I have “presumptive” Lynch Syndrome. The reason it is presumptive, is because all of the genetic testing that I have had has came back negative for this mutated gene. However, when the tumor was tested, that also came back negative for sporadic cancer. Therefore, I will be screened as if I have Lynch Syndrome until more advanced genetic testing comes out. Hopefully someday I will be able to have a more definitive answer.
I would like to thank my friends and family for their unconditional support and love. They are truly the ones that were instrumental in my survival and will continue to be in the future, especially my husband Seth. I wouldn’t be the survivor I am today if it were not for his love, caring heart, and positive personality. Also, thank you to all of the organizations and support groups that are dedicated to help raise awareness for colon cancer and all other types of cancers. We need you!
