Rachel Buntenbach - Showing cancer Who's Boss
by Rachel Buntenbach
I’ll admit, I thought it was kind of funny that I had to get a colonoscopy. I mean, I’m not your ideal colonoscopy patient… I was 27 at the time and was pretty healthy. But the constant nausea and digestive problems kept telling me there was something wrong, so I figured now was the time to get it figured out.
I had my first colonoscopy on Friday, May 29th, 2009. The procedure went well and they found 2 polyps… which, I was told that it was normal for some people to have polyps, but they have to send them off to be biopsied.
The following Tuesday, I was eating lunch with my co-workers and I got a call from the doctor’s office. Both of the polyps they removed contained cancer cells… I had colon cancer.
In a matter of minutes, my whole world was turned upside down. I had cancer… And even better, I had to go in again the next day for another colonoscopy to mark the spots where they removed the polyps to prep for surgery… which meant, I didn’t get to eat anything else for the rest of the day… oh… and I had to prep again! And, I’m thinking… this must be a record, 2 colonoscopies in a matter of 5 days… I should at least get my picture on the wall or something!
The second colonoscopy was a bit easier… at least I knew what to expect. They marked the spots and in the days following, I met with the surgeon. Since I was so young, they wanted to be aggressive in the way I was treated and thought the best course of action was surgery. My husband, Eddie, and I talked about it and agreed it was the best option for our family.
On June 15th, 2009 I had surgery and they removed a portion of my sigmoid colon. It would take a couple of days after the surgery to see whether or not the cancer had spread to any of my other organs. Luckily, it hadn’t spread and all was removed in surgery! I had to have blood work done every 3 months as follow up. In June 2010, I had my one-year follow up colonoscopy and am happy to report that I’m still cancer free!
I'm a firm believer that early detection is key! Listen to your body; you know it better than anyone else, and if something just doesn’t seem right; go get it checked! I can't even imagine how my health would be now, or even 5 years from now if I would have never gotten that colonoscopy...
I’ll admit, I thought it was kind of funny that I had to get a colonoscopy. I mean, I’m not your ideal colonoscopy patient… I was 27 at the time and was pretty healthy. But the constant nausea and digestive problems kept telling me there was something wrong, so I figured now was the time to get it figured out.
I had my first colonoscopy on Friday, May 29th, 2009. The procedure went well and they found 2 polyps… which, I was told that it was normal for some people to have polyps, but they have to send them off to be biopsied.
The following Tuesday, I was eating lunch with my co-workers and I got a call from the doctor’s office. Both of the polyps they removed contained cancer cells… I had colon cancer.
In a matter of minutes, my whole world was turned upside down. I had cancer… And even better, I had to go in again the next day for another colonoscopy to mark the spots where they removed the polyps to prep for surgery… which meant, I didn’t get to eat anything else for the rest of the day… oh… and I had to prep again! And, I’m thinking… this must be a record, 2 colonoscopies in a matter of 5 days… I should at least get my picture on the wall or something!
The second colonoscopy was a bit easier… at least I knew what to expect. They marked the spots and in the days following, I met with the surgeon. Since I was so young, they wanted to be aggressive in the way I was treated and thought the best course of action was surgery. My husband, Eddie, and I talked about it and agreed it was the best option for our family.
On June 15th, 2009 I had surgery and they removed a portion of my sigmoid colon. It would take a couple of days after the surgery to see whether or not the cancer had spread to any of my other organs. Luckily, it hadn’t spread and all was removed in surgery! I had to have blood work done every 3 months as follow up. In June 2010, I had my one-year follow up colonoscopy and am happy to report that I’m still cancer free!
I'm a firm believer that early detection is key! Listen to your body; you know it better than anyone else, and if something just doesn’t seem right; go get it checked! I can't even imagine how my health would be now, or even 5 years from now if I would have never gotten that colonoscopy...
