Wendy Kriegshauser - Too Young for Colon Cancer?
By Wendy Kriegshauser
For years I had been dealing with bowel problems such as cramping and I always thought that it was because I had a sensitive stomach. One day I went to the doctor because I was cramping so bad that I thought I had a stomach bug and wanted the doctor to give me some medicine to get better fast. When I told him I had blood in my stool for about a year and I thought it was because I had large babies, a small red flag went up. The doctor looked at me and said "you are so healthy and young, you probably have Chrone's Disease. You should get a colonoscopy some time to see if there is any damage to your colon." A week later I went in for a colonoscopy and afterwards the doctor came in and told me they could not complete the colonoscopy because I had a tumor so big that I was about to rupture my colon. Not only that but that it was probably cancerous and I needed to go in for immediate surgery. The doctor was almost crying and said he could not believe it and that he had no idea because I was so young and healthy.
Since I was so young and healthy the doctors decided to do some genetic testing. I tested positive for Lynch Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes many cancers but mainly colon. Later we would learn my dad has the gene too and my grandpa probably did because he died at the age of 36 due to "stomach cancer". My boys ages 10 and 12 will be tested when they are 18 yrs old. Now my dad is battling terminal cancer that is related to Lynch Syndrome.
After surgery and removing part of my colon I was clear and after healing up for a few weeks back to working out hard and hanging out with my 2 boys. All the boys knew was that I had a stomach problem and had it fixed with a surgery. I did not want them to hear mommy has cancer for fear that they would freak out. However, 3 months later they would have to hear the "C" word because cancer had spread to my liver fast. I felt a pain in my shoulder while working out and thought I had injured it. I went to the doctor and they performed a CT to see what was going on. They happened to see some of my liver and what they saw was not good. I had over 12 tumors throughout my liver. My oncologist, Dr. Behrens, called and told me that I had multiple tumors in my liver. I said "OK when do we have surgery to get them out?". What I did not know was that when there is that much in the liver you do not just do surgery, you start chemo.
One week later we started chemo and they said my cancer was inoperable and we would see what would happen. Basically, there is no cure was what the doctors were telling me. This is when my kids found out mommy had cancer. I never told them how serious it was but they saw me get tired and sick through the chemo. They still to this day are not fearful of cancer and I try to help them understand the with the bad good can happen. Friends and family rallied around me and many prayers were sent my way. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, good and bad. Cancer has brought so many blessings into my life and one is God bringing great people into my life. I think God brought my husband into my life many years before this knowing that he would be perfect to go through this with me.
After 6 rounds of chemo Dr. Behren's told me there was one doctor at Mayo that said he could be able to perform surgery on my liver to remove most of the tumors. I headed to Mayo and had one lobe of my liver removed and several spots removed on the remaining liver. At the same time I had a full hysterectomy to make sure the cancer did not spread there. The best part was when I woke up from surgery and my husband was holding my hand he told me they got all of the cancer! Mark, my husband, had been with me all the way through this and extremely positive like me. Even when we thought I might die we kept smiling and enjoying every minute of life. People who know me know I have always lived life to the fullest and with a smile. I am the mom who sleds with the kids, jumps on the trampoline, rides the rides, rides waves in the ocean and works out all the time. However, no matter how healthy, active and young you are cancer can sneak into your life. I am cancer free today and I have colonoscopys once a year and my kids will have their first one at the age of 20. Now I work at the Waukee Y as a Wellness coach, helping people who are done with their cancer treatments get back on track to working out. Cancer has been a blessing in my life in so many ways but I do not want it to come back!!
For years I had been dealing with bowel problems such as cramping and I always thought that it was because I had a sensitive stomach. One day I went to the doctor because I was cramping so bad that I thought I had a stomach bug and wanted the doctor to give me some medicine to get better fast. When I told him I had blood in my stool for about a year and I thought it was because I had large babies, a small red flag went up. The doctor looked at me and said "you are so healthy and young, you probably have Chrone's Disease. You should get a colonoscopy some time to see if there is any damage to your colon." A week later I went in for a colonoscopy and afterwards the doctor came in and told me they could not complete the colonoscopy because I had a tumor so big that I was about to rupture my colon. Not only that but that it was probably cancerous and I needed to go in for immediate surgery. The doctor was almost crying and said he could not believe it and that he had no idea because I was so young and healthy.
Since I was so young and healthy the doctors decided to do some genetic testing. I tested positive for Lynch Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes many cancers but mainly colon. Later we would learn my dad has the gene too and my grandpa probably did because he died at the age of 36 due to "stomach cancer". My boys ages 10 and 12 will be tested when they are 18 yrs old. Now my dad is battling terminal cancer that is related to Lynch Syndrome.
After surgery and removing part of my colon I was clear and after healing up for a few weeks back to working out hard and hanging out with my 2 boys. All the boys knew was that I had a stomach problem and had it fixed with a surgery. I did not want them to hear mommy has cancer for fear that they would freak out. However, 3 months later they would have to hear the "C" word because cancer had spread to my liver fast. I felt a pain in my shoulder while working out and thought I had injured it. I went to the doctor and they performed a CT to see what was going on. They happened to see some of my liver and what they saw was not good. I had over 12 tumors throughout my liver. My oncologist, Dr. Behrens, called and told me that I had multiple tumors in my liver. I said "OK when do we have surgery to get them out?". What I did not know was that when there is that much in the liver you do not just do surgery, you start chemo.
One week later we started chemo and they said my cancer was inoperable and we would see what would happen. Basically, there is no cure was what the doctors were telling me. This is when my kids found out mommy had cancer. I never told them how serious it was but they saw me get tired and sick through the chemo. They still to this day are not fearful of cancer and I try to help them understand the with the bad good can happen. Friends and family rallied around me and many prayers were sent my way. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, good and bad. Cancer has brought so many blessings into my life and one is God bringing great people into my life. I think God brought my husband into my life many years before this knowing that he would be perfect to go through this with me.
After 6 rounds of chemo Dr. Behren's told me there was one doctor at Mayo that said he could be able to perform surgery on my liver to remove most of the tumors. I headed to Mayo and had one lobe of my liver removed and several spots removed on the remaining liver. At the same time I had a full hysterectomy to make sure the cancer did not spread there. The best part was when I woke up from surgery and my husband was holding my hand he told me they got all of the cancer! Mark, my husband, had been with me all the way through this and extremely positive like me. Even when we thought I might die we kept smiling and enjoying every minute of life. People who know me know I have always lived life to the fullest and with a smile. I am the mom who sleds with the kids, jumps on the trampoline, rides the rides, rides waves in the ocean and works out all the time. However, no matter how healthy, active and young you are cancer can sneak into your life. I am cancer free today and I have colonoscopys once a year and my kids will have their first one at the age of 20. Now I work at the Waukee Y as a Wellness coach, helping people who are done with their cancer treatments get back on track to working out. Cancer has been a blessing in my life in so many ways but I do not want it to come back!!
