Fundraiser Spotlight: Joshua

Joshua was diagnosed with Colon Cancer at the age of the 36, and since beginning to recover, decided to start a fundraiser that raised over 1,000 dollars for the Colon Cancer Foundation;

“I was diagnosed with Colon Cancer on 1/31/20 (at age of 36) in the hospital (after going into the ER on the Friday before on 1/24/20). I went in feeling like I had the Flu, but it was something else. After many tests, I ended up getting confirmation there was a blockage in my sigmoid colon and the biopsy said it was cancer.

The good news is I live in Chicago and my hospital is Northwestern and I was very lucky to find a great care team. I had my initial surgery the day after the Superbowl to see what they can do and with confirmation of the size being too large to remove we decided to give me a colostomy and 6months of chemo. I started that as soon as I was allowed to in late February and the last time in the hospital was on July 29th. With many more scans and a few weeks of rest after Chemo, I was ready for surgery on September 8th.

That surgery was a success and was out of the hospital on 9/11. They removed the tumor (stage 3) and 89 lymph nodes showing no signs of metastatic. She turned the colostomy into an ileostomy to continue to let the body heal in that area. Then I went back on December 12th for my reversal. It was an early Christmas gift to have all of this out of the way by the end of the year!

There is so much to talk about and I’m finally getting to that stage where I’m able to and really want to help spread the word as I don’t have a family history and I know how easy this can be to catch and then treat.”

A huge thank you to Joshua for sharing his story and for his contribution! Inspired to start your own fundraiser? Instructions to start your own here: https://coloncancerfoundation.org/events/organize-your-own-fundraising-event/?fbclid=IwAR23xzwdF-K8j0t-WETp-gzIjj0j-LpXg49ywZ8g-YQjSM8vK722Mis4h-k