by Dorothy Casabianca
I am 60 years old. I have been blind since birth, and today, I am a cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in February 2000. I am sharing my experience with readers of “The Braille Forum” so that you may become more aware of bodily changes that might prompt you to seek medical attention early. Doing so might save your life.
Since the births of my two children, I have suffered occasionally from hemorrhoids. Each time, I treated them, and the problem would go away for a while. Eventually they became quite uncomfortable and occurred more frequently. I would think to myself that I really should see a gastroenterologist.
The pressure became greater, and when I asked a personal friend to check, there was some blood present. I thought that perhaps the pressure and the blood might be coming from an internal hemorrhoid. As we blind people know, this particular symptom is something that, if we could see, would be one of the first signs to alert us that something could be wrong.
In 1996 and 1997 I lost two friends who were in their 40s to colon cancer. One of them was totally blind; the other, visually impaired. This disease shows no age or gender discrimination. In both cases, the cancer was discovered too late. Again I said to myself, “I really should go and have a colonoscopy.”
Then I found a doctor with whom I felt very comfortable. During an exam, she found a rather large polyp, so we immediately proceeded with a colonoscopy. Because of the many things I had heard over the years about this test, I was pretty scared. But let me assure you that it is nothing to fear. I was anesthetized and only felt a little discomfort. During the procedure, she took a biopsy of the polyp, which showed that it was malignant, but the good news was that there were no other polyps.
Then I sought an oncology surgeon I could trust to do my surgery. During our first interview I told him that I would be going for a second opinion, and he was more than willing to give me copies of all my medical information. The second opinion concurred with everything the first doctor had told me, so I was very much at peace going into surgery.
A CT scan of my abdomen and pelvis showed no other organ involvement. This was an encouraging sign for me and my family.
I received six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before surgery, making it much easier to remove. Because of its location, I had to have a colostomy. I had heard horror stories about things that happen to colostomy patients. But now I can tell you that after one has been fitted properly and learned how to use it, today’s equipment is practically fail-safe.
My surgery took place June 8, 2000. I was in the hospital a little longer than most people, but once I returned home, thanks to the assistance of the Visiting Nurse Service, I made quantum leaps in my recovery. I have joined a support group, United Ostomy Association, and can do all the things that I always did.
I was on chemotherapy for a year after surgery, and finished up in August 2001. The type of medication I was given did not make me nauseous, and I did not lose my hair. Now I am seeing my oncologist once a month for the next year, and my surgeon every three months. If all of my tests keep coming back negative, then I will see them less often. So far, thank God, everything has been A-OK.
My reason for writing this article is to encourage everyone, especially blind and visually impaired people, to consider having regular, complete checkups which include blood work with cancer screening; a sigmoidoscopy, which is an examination of the lower colon; a colonoscopy, an examination of the entire colon; and a urinalysis. If pre-cancerous polyps are found, they can be removed during the colonoscopy. It takes about 10 years for a pre-cancerous polyp to become cancerous. So, if I had listened to my conscience and gone even a few years earlier, maybe I would have caught the polyp before it became so large that a colonoscopy was my only option. I can now admit to myself that the only reason for my procrastination was fear. That fear could have cost me my life.
These tests should definitely be done if there is any cancer in your family. The most important thing is to find a physician that you like, trust and can talk to openly. Be sure to mention that you want to have these tests because a blind person cannot possibly recognize the first, visual signs of cancer.
I realize that I am extremely blessed and am very grateful for each day of good health that I have with my family, my guide dog Clipsey, and friends. It sure does put things in perspective for me, and helps me know and remember what’s important. I know that I am not out of the woods yet, but with God’s help I will be in another three years. I know that if I didn’t have my faith, and couldn’t share my feelings, thoughts and concerns with God, then it would have been much more difficult for me to get through this illness.