Health
‘I’m more compassionate to my patients,’ says UAMS nurse and colon cancer survivor
| | John Reed, RN, are on the front lines of cancer. As a nurse at the UAMS Endoscopy Lab, he spends approximately 50 weeks a year assisting patients through colon cancer screening procedures, primarily colonoscopies.
However, in 2020, Reid became a patient after undergoing regular doctor visits.
“I was feeling great, but my iron levels were very low. People said I looked gray,” Reed said. I was pretty sure.”
At just 42 years of age, Lead was several years away from the recommended colon cancer screening age of 50 for average-risk men. The guideline was subsequently lowered to 45 due to an increase in young adults being diagnosed with the disease.
However, there was a tumor there, discovered during a colonoscopy that completely blocked the ascending colon. Thankfully, the cancer had not spread far away.
“It was a bit of a shock,” Reed said of finding out about colorectal cancer. “But I had this serene peace about it.”
Like many colorectal cancer patients, Reed had no strong family history of cancer and had mild symptoms, so he didn’t notice them. Common symptoms of colorectal cancer include bleeding, changes in bowel habits, and abdominal pain.
“It was very scary for him,” said Kirsten Butts, RN, Clinical Services Manager, UAMS Endoscopy Lab. “He joined just before the pandemic.”
Within 2 weeks of diagnosis Conan Mustaine, MD, A UAMS colorectal cancer surgeon had leads in the operating room. Musttain performed a right robotic hemicolectomy to remove Reed’s ascending colon and regional lymph nodes.
“It was great to have John’s surgery done robotically,” said Musttain, who leads the UAMS robotic surgery team, noting that robotic surgery offers better visualization and requires smaller incisions. doing. At the time, UAMS was equipped with the latest generation of his daVinci Xi robotic surgery system.
Today, UAMS is the da Vinci case observation center for colorectal surgery and trains other surgeons in the surgical system. UAMS now has more than 20 of his robotic surgeons in nine specialties, including colorectal, thoracic, urology and gynecologic oncology.
“Robotic surgery allows us to perform more operations in the body and remove tumors at locations other than the midline. ” said Mustaine.
Reed (pictured with his family) was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at just 42 years old. Now he is cancer-free and uses his experience to help other patients.
This was good news for the young father of three children whose family could not be hospitalized due to the pandemic.
Pathology revealed that the cancer had spread to several regional lymph nodes, so surgery was followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy, during which Reed continued treatment. rice field.
“I’ll have chemo on Friday and off chemo on Sunday so I have a day to recover before I go back to work on Tuesday,” says Reed.
Reed completed treatment in October 2021 and had her first clear scan in December of that year. “It was a really, really nice Christmas.”
Why do young people get colon cancer?
Reed is one of the rising numbers of young adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer since the 1990s. According to the National Cancer Institute, the incidence of colorectal cancer (which includes colon and rectal cancer) is steadily rising among adults under the age of 50. More and more young people are dying from this disease.
Mustaine says he sees this alarming trend as well. “Over the past three years he has performed robotic surgery on 50 patients under the age of 45, 20 of whom were cancer patients.”
Scientists don’t know what’s causing the surge in colorectal cancer among young adults. Dr. Ruud Dins An associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at UAMS studies the gut bacteria, also known as the microbiome.
“Many of these research studies, especially those involving patients, are at best correlative,” Dings said. Until we have more and better insight into what causes and drives colon cancer, from genetic factors to external environmental factors that can influence the microbiome, early and regular screening remains This is the most practical and reliable course of action.
Genetic factors account for only 10-20% of early-onset colorectal cancers, but Reed undergoes genetic testing at UAMS reveals he likely has a relative predisposed to gastrointestinal cancer I made it His odds of his cancer coming back are as low as 25-30% for him. He will be closely monitored with CT and colonoscopy.
“John is a very good man with compassion for others. He truly handled his diagnosis, surgery and treatment with courage and resilience. We frequently refer to cases and ages of patients to promote and spread awareness about colorectal cancer,” Butts said.
Two years after the experience, Reid’s scars are mostly gone and life is mostly back to normal.
“It can be a little depressing when a doctor has to tell a family member bad news, but I try to share my experience with them. It makes them feel better.” It looks like it will,” Reed said.
Which colorectal cancer screening method is best?
In 2021, the US Preventive Services Task Force will release new recommendations for colorectal cancer screening. Asymptomatic average-risk individuals with no family history of cancer should begin colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer at age 45.
Screening tests for colorectal cancer can be divided into two categories: stool-based tests and structural tests. Stool-based testing looks for the presence of blood or mutated DNA in the stool to identify patients who need further testing to determine the cause. A positive stool-based test is very likely if the patient has colon cancer. However, it has been less successful in detecting precancerous lesions. Stool-based testing is convenient and less invasive, but must be repeated regularly. If the test result is positive, a colonoscopy should be done.
Structural screening tests include colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, double-contrast barium enema, or CT colonography. Structural examination is designed to look at the wall of the colon, and the bowel must be cleaned and filled with air to see wall lesions. As with any stool-based examination, any abnormal structural examination should be followed by a colonoscopy. A colonoscopy involves inserting a long, flexible camera (colonoscope) into the rectum to look inside the entire large intestine. If necessary, polyps and other types of abnormal tissue can be biopsied or removed during the colonoscopy.
Insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid will pay for colorectal cancer screening at appropriate intervals, regardless of which option a patient chooses. However, if a patient has a positive screening test such as her Cologuard, a colonoscopy investigating an abnormal test is considered a “diagnosis” rather than a “screening”. This difference may influence the type of test patients choose for screening. If a patient is found to have precancerous polyps, they are considered “high risk” for colorectal cancer and are ineligible for average risk screening. These patients require a “surveillance” colonoscopy to monitor for polyps. Other screening tests are inappropriate in this setting. Patients of any age, whether younger or older than those recommended for screening, may require a “diagnostic” colonoscopy to investigate symptoms such as bleeding or changes in bowel habits. .
For more information or to schedule a colonoscopy visit: https://cancer.uams.edu/patients-family/prevention/colorectal-cancer-screenings/ Or call us at 501-686-8000.
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