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Get Screened
Colorectal cancer screening is the best means to catch pre-cancerous polyps and diagnose colon cancer at its earliest stage, when it’s treatable and curable.
Colon Cancer Screening: Changing Perspectives
At Lakes Depression Center in West Bloomfield, mental health nurse Ann Timm works with severely depressed and suicidal patients. But the courage to manage her fears about colorectal cancer began with the compassion of a Henry Ford nurse, and it continued with her like-minded support group and the expert surgeon who treated her.
Ann is an outdoorsy woman who often lugs her paddle board into the Huron River, just two miles from her home. From her dining room in Milford, she has an expansive view of nature. However, it was her short-range view about cancer screening that would change her life.
Two years after her doctor recommended cancer screening, Ann, 52, finally took the Cologuard test, aka poop-in-a-box test. The result: Abnormal. Colonoscopy required.
“I just blew it off,” says Ann. “I was thinking that I’m a nurse in excellent health. I don’t have any risk factors for cancer, or family history of it or any symptoms.”
Nine months later, she had the colonoscopy. Drowsy in the recovery room, she heard the diagnosis: a couple of polyps and a cancerous mass.
“I was in shock and tearful,” says Ann. “One nurse asked if I needed anything. She held my hand and comforted me and told me I was going to be OK. It was just the touch that I needed, and it meant the world to me.
“I was worried about my kids, not myself,” says Ann, a divorcee with a son in high school and a daughter in college. “Mentally, I was a mess. You don’t know how you’ll react to a crisis until you’re forced to be strong.
“I had the wonderful support of my family and friends who think the same way that I do, and they told me that we’re all in this together. When I doubted that the cancer was only stage 1, they would say, ‘Stop it! Tell yourself this surgery is going to get rid of stage 1 cancer, and you’re going to be done with it!’”
Says Surya Nalamati, M.D., a colorectal cancer specialist, Ann had a common sporadic cancer that can happen without any genetic predisposition. She is similar to other patients in the sense that colon cancer is happening to a younger population. For that reason, the first colonoscopy is now recommended for people aged 45
Dr. Nalamati offered Ann a choice of where she could have the surgery. She chose Henry Ford in downtown Detroit where any complications could be managed by trauma care experts.
To speed recovery and reduce pain, Dr. Nalamati performed a colon resection using minimally invasive approaches and robotic assistance that had ultra-precise movements. During the three-hour surgery, he removed the piece of colon with the tumor and reconnected the colon. Grateful to have only five small cuts on her stomach, Ann did not require an ostomy bag.
The most surprising part of the treatment was the intense post-operative pain. Getting up and down in the bed was the worst, but her son and daughter were there to help.
“I have a high tolerance for pain, and I don’t like the feeling of drugs. So I’d rather go through the pain,” says Ann who took pain medication for only one week.
Oblivious to the eye rolling of possible critics, Ann had a fake-it-until-you-make-it approach to her recovery.
Says Ann, I’ve always been a firm believer that our bodies hear what we’re saying. It’s OK to force yourself to say, I’m going to have a great day today – even on the days you don’t want to. It’s just like forcing yourself to exercise or go to the gym.
“As a mental health nurse, I absolutely know that our thoughts control our mind. You can have a negative spiral just by what you’re thinking. I see it every day. So, I try to think positive,” says Ann who is encouraged by supportive friends during down times. “I think my whole life has changed for the better. I thank God for letting me wake up every day.”
Recalling certain nurses and doctors who were empathetic, Ann says, “Compassion goes a long way. Dr. Nalamati is a wonderful surgeon. He’s very straightforward and kind. I’ve asked him a million questions. He has given me answers that made me feel confident. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
These days, Ann recommends colon cancer screening and the Cologuard test to her friends. “Just do what you’re supposed to do because stuff can happen to all of us,” says Ann. If the test is positive, it may be just a polyp that could be removed without major surgery.
“I’ve always believed my purpose has been to help people, because that enriches my life. Even more now, I know my purpose is to be close to my family. My kids are my world and I’m glad to be around a lot longer to be their mom,” Ann says.
