March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and Will Lanier took a moment to share his experiences with Huffington Post in support of this month. He was diagnosed with colon cancer and wants to bring awareness to this stigmatized disease.
It all began on the ominous day of Friday the 13th in June 2014. The 28-year old fitness trainer heard his doctor say those horrific words, “You have colon cancer.” Faced with this life-changing news, Will immediately hit the Internet, searching for information and statistics on treatment options and survival rates.
During his research, Will discovered that the new cases of colon cancer in younger Americans between the ages of 20 to 34 were steadily rising each year by as much as 2 percent. And according to the US National Cancer Institute, the numbers will only continue to soar.
Nearly 90 percent of younger Americans are estimated to be diagnosed with colon cancer by 2030.
Nearly every piece of colon cancer literature stresses the importance of people over 50 getting tested but offers little warning to the younger generation. If the number of younger colon cancer victims are rising so rapidly, then why wasn’t anyone alerting them?
Will’s next step was to meet with a longtime friend and fellow fitness enthusiast, Heidi Burkhart. Together, they decided to take the issue to the streets. Their new goal in life is to raise public awareness of the escalating diagnoses of colon cancer in younger adults. Will has even allowed his nearly-naked image showing his colostomy bag to become part of Heidi’s advertisement campaign.
Will and Heidi believe that colon cancer carries a certain stigma that prevents many people from discussing the topic openly.
The potentially embarrassing conversations of possible symptoms, side effects, and screening tests tend to make people uncomfortable. Colonoscopy examinations are not exactly a great conversation starter.
What most Americans do not know is that those embarrassing colonoscopy examinations are now rarely necessary. Today, the process is easier and invasive procedures are not as commonplace. Will believes that if Americans just knew how painless and easy the entire screening process has now become, millions of more lives could be saved.
In December 2014, Will underwent his last surgery and Will is now living a full and happy life. His colonoscopy bag may be gone, but his commitment to colon cancer awareness is still as strong as ever.
About Gi Doctor
Beverly Hills gastroenterologist, Dr. Peyton Berookim, is also devoted to colon cancer awareness and is dedicated to its prevention. Visit his website to make an appointment for a colonoscopy examination today. For more updates, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
