Understanding Colon Cancer
- Country music star Eric Church recently celebrated a fan’s major milestone on stage beating colon cancer.
- Church bent down and the man who had just beaten stage 3 colon cancer handed him a small bottle of alcohol, and the two men did a shot of whiskey together.
- Colon cancer affects your large intestine (colon) or the end of your intestine (rectum). This type of cancer is also referred to as colorectal cancer. Experts recommend that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45.
Church, singer of the new hit country song Heart On Fire, looked down while performing on stage in Denver, Colo., last month. What he saw was a cancer warrior asking the musician for a small favor.
Read MoreChurch walked over to the man, took his sign and held it up for all to see. He then bent down and the man who had just beaten stage 3 colon cancer handed Church a small bottle of alcohol, and the two men did a shot of whiskey together. And of course a handshake afterward.@sebastian.dobynsMy Dad took a shot with Eric Church last night. He just beat stage 3 Colon Cancer. #MakeItCinematic #IKnowWhatYouDid #ericchurch #country #cancer♬ original sound – sebastian.dobyns
The heartwarming moment was captured on video, which has since gone viral on TikTok, by the man's son, Sebastian Dobyns. It was confirmed that the video was filmed on Oct. 15 during Eric Church's stop at the Ball Arena in Denver during his Gather Again Tour. The tour has dates through December before taking a short break for the holidays, but picks back up with dates booked through late May 2022.
Celebrating With Eric Church
Taking a shot of whiskey with Eric Church is definitely one way to celebrate getting back to normal after beating cancer. But what does that really mean?
We've all been trying to get "back to normal" since March 2020 when the Covid pandemic began. For cancer survivors, once they hear those magic words "no evidence of disease" getting back to normal can be difficult. And we're not sure what it means, considering "normal" is different for everyone.
Follow That Fire: Life After Cancer Will be Different, That Doesn't Have to be a Bad Thing
One thing we know for certain is that things are going to change after you've had cancer that's part of the process. But it doesn't have to be a bad thing.
After CC Webster was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at 29 years old, she was struck by the overwhelming anxiety she started to feel. "In life after cancer, I experienced an entirely new level of anxiety that I didn't know existed," Webster tells SurvivorNet. "Earth-shattering anxiety that makes you sweat, and makes your heart race. I had to learn how to manage myself in that, and how to allow myself to process the trauma that I had just been through."
Webster says what finally got her back on her feet was facing her anxiety head-on. Eventually, she was able to walk away from her cancer journey with a new outlook on life.
Understanding Colon Cancer
Colorectal cancer affects your large intestine (colon) or the end of your intestine (rectum).
The cancer starts when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. If you don't have these polyps removed, they can sometimes turn into cancer. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become full-blown cancer, so if you get the recommended screenings, then your doctor will have time to remove any polyps that form before they can cause problems.
Experts recommend that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45.
Chemotherapy for Stage Three Colon Cancer
Stages one through three colon cancers are cancers that haven’t spread far from the colon. Because of this, there’s the potential for a cure with surgical resection.
When it comes to stage 3 colon cancer specifically, this means that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes surrounding the colon. In these cases, both surgery and chemotherapy are usually recommended.
Chemotherapy is often the main form of treatment in cases of stage 3 colon cancer, with the aim to eliminate all evidence of the disease. If tumor cells have reached the lymph nodes, they may be hiding in other parts of the body, as well. They may be too small to see with the naked eye, they can cause the cancer to come back. Because of that recurrence risk, doctors recommend that anyone with cancer in their lymph nodes undergo chemotherapy after surgery.
Contributing: Shelby Black
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