Colorectal cancer awareness month brings focus to early detection and prevention
NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and doctors say early screenings can be life-changing.
Identifying early symptoms and having early screenings can increase the chance of catching precancerous changes before they develop into colon cancer.
A screening helped a local woman catch it early.
Marsha Obremski is a mom, a teacher, and, like many women in her 40s, someone who thought her symptoms were just a part of getting older.
“You don’t all of a sudden wake up one day, and all of a sudden realize ‘I have cancer,'” said Obremski.
But back in November, she started noticing changes, excessive bowel movements, and abdominal pain, but she brushed them off.
“As most women in their 40’s, you start to notice changes, and so I pretty much dismissed every sign that was a warning sign early on, and I kept thinking it was food sensitivity, it’s just age,” said Obremski.
It was a coworker who urged her to go to the doctor.
“I told them I was having some symptoms, told them my symptoms, they immediately got me in on December 5th, and I went in for an exam, and I was scheduled for a colonoscopy, a diagnostic colonoscopy, just days later, and I then received a cancer diagnosis within 36 hours of that colonoscopy,” said Obremski.
Colorectal cancer is the number one leading cause of cancer-related death for people under 50, a trend that changed the screening age for a colonoscopy from 50 to 45.
Early screenings can detect “polyps” that can develop into cancer if left untreated.
Doctor Whiyie Sang is a Colorectal Surgeon for Novant Health and says the key is acting at the first signs of symptoms.
“When you have symptoms of bleeding, or you have symptoms of changes in your bowel movement, abdominal pain, anything at all, the important thing is to make sure you talk to your doctor and get evaluated because ultimately, it will probably end up with a colonoscopy,” said Sang.
Thanks to that push from a friend, Marsha caught her cancer early and is now cancer-free after undergoing surgery to remove the infected part of her colon.
She says talking about it could save someone’s life.
There are other acceptable ways of screening for those not comfortable with a colonoscopy, including stool-based studies and a new blood test called a “blood drop.”
The Blue Ribbon Foundation is an organization of local women who have lost family members to colorectal cancer, and is hosting its annual Blue Ribbon Run, a 5-K and one-mile fun run to raise money and awareness on colorectal cancer.
The run will be Saturday, March 28th, and more details can be found on their website.
