Hoboken resident Naomi Butts knows that people are squeamish about talking about bowels, bowel movements, bodily wastes and tests that involve sticking tubes into the rectum and intestines.
But Butts, who is a survivor of colon cancer, also knows that talking about and understanding these topics can save your life.
It is this stigma and embarrassment surrounding colon cancer, she said, that has lead to colorectal cancer to becoming one of the most misunderstood forms of cancer. But the good news is that if it is discovered early, it can also be one of the most treatable forms of cancer.
Her story
While studies show that the risk of colon cancer is certainly greater over 50, it can afflict a person, like Butts, who was only 35 when she was diagnosed two years ago.
In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third-leading cancer in men and women, after lung cancer, prostate cancer, which is second for men, and breast cancer, which is second for women. According to the American Cancer society, there are more lives lost, about 60,000 annually, to colon cancer than there is to breast cancer and AIDS combined.
Another myth surrounding colon cancer is that this as a disease that only afflicts men. In fact, more women then men will be diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005. According the Cancer Society, there will be about 145,290 new cases of colon cancer in the U.S. this year. Of those about 73, 470 will be women and 71,820 will be men.
Also, while genetics play a major role, colon cancer can certainly affect those with no family history. Studies show that about 75 to 80 percent of all colorectal cancer occurs in people without a family history. Butts has no history of colon cancer in her family.
The symptoms
According to the American Cancer Society, symptoms include diarrhea or constipation, feeling that the bowel does not empty completely, vomiting, blood in the stool, abdominal discomfort (gas, bloating, cramps), weight loss for no known reasons, and constant tiredness.
Looking back, Butts now realizes that she was suffering from many of these symptoms. She had been constipated for years, had blood in the stool, and felt bloated and uncomfortable much of the time.
In March of 2003, she found that she was enigmatically tired. A mother of children ages six and four, Butts even thought that she might be pregnant again. She also thought that the exhaustion could be the combination of work and stress.
But her symptoms reached a severe point where she could no longer ignore them, so she decided to go in for a full physical. While her bloodwork came back normal, a colonoscopy revealed a large tumor, five by four centimeters.
“At 35, I would have never, in a million years, thought that I had colon cancer,” she said, “but there I was with all the symptoms. If I would have known more, I could have caught it years earlier.”
According to the Colon Cancer Alliance, the disease develops slowly over a long period of time, usually starting out as a small grape-size growth called a polyp on the inner wall of the large intestine, colon and/or rectum.
Not all polyps turn into cancer. In fact, only one particular type of polyp, called an adenoma, has the potential to turn into cancer. When polyps develop into cancer, this process usually takes five to 15 years. During this time, screening tests can be used to detect the polyps, allowing their removal before cancer ever develops.
Butts had laparoscopic surgery to remove the tumor. A week later, she was diagnosed with late Stage 2 colorectal cancer and began 30 weeks of chemotherapy. “It was really harsh and difficult to get through,” said Butts about the chemotherapy.
“The best advice that I can give people is to listen to your body,” Butts said. “If my experience could inspire one person to get screened or recognize their symptom in the early stages, then maybe some good can come out of this.”
Butts’ cancer is now in remission, but she knows that there’s a good chance that it will return. Asked if she has any advice, Butts said that people, both men and women, need to be their own best advocate.
She also said that people should not fall victim to the stigma and misinformation that surrounds colon cancer. “There is hope out there and there are effective treatment options,” Butts said. “We just have to make sure that people get or can find accurate information.”
She added that there is a wide array of different screening options available, so even if someone is under 50 and they are feeling these symptoms, they should consult their family doctor.
For those over 50, according to the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health, all women and men at average risk need to begin screening for colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society screening recommendations for those at average risk include one of the five options: Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) every year; or flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years; or fecal occult blood test every year with flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years and a colonoscopy every 10 years.
Even though it’s been a rough road for Butts, she hasn’t lost her sense of humor. “My maiden was Colon, and my married name is Butts, so I should have taken that as a sign that I was destined to get colon cancer.”