A Personal Cancer Journey

story by Beth Kornegay photographs courtesy Fight CRC

Three little words can change your life. When I heard “You have cancer,” shockwaves coursed through my body even though I was still partially under anesthetic.

I’d gone in for what I thought was my first routine colonoscopy two days after Christmas in 2013. After additional testing, I was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer at age 50.

The next several weeks seemed like a blur: a multitude of additional tests, wading through insurance documents, searching for an oncologist, notifying my co-workers, and, perhaps the most difficult, making calls to my dad wintering in Texas and my adult son in California.

The next year now seems like a distant memory with radiation and chemotherapy treatments, surgeries, emergency hospital admittances, doctor visits, and trying to continue to work full-time in order to maintain my health insurance along with some sense of normalcy. Thankfully, my husband of just one year, James, was at my side the entire time, often shouldering the weight of my diagnosis himself. He became my nurse and connection to the outside world as I recuperated on the couch in the living room for months, not knowing what the next day would bring.

My body did not exhibit any symptoms of colon cancer such as weight loss, bloating, family history, or blood in my stool. My surgeon said the size of my tumor was roughly the size of my fist, and it had likely been growing inside of me for 10 years. I went through some genetic testing to see if I could pass colon cancer to my son and thankfully those results did not show a genetic component. I just had bum luck, as my doctor said.

After my treatments ended and my final surgery was completed, I began to regain my strength, and my hair grew back after losing it to the chemo treatments. In many ways, I felt as though I needed to make up the time that cancer had taken from me. I delved back into work again, continued my volunteer activities with the Shawnee Police Department and other organizations, and went back to freelance writing. I rekindled relationships with friends who didn’t know if I was going to survive; in 2014, Stage III colon cancer only had about a 35% five-year survival rate.

As life got back to normal for me, I grew increasingly thankful for my recovery. I had beaten the odds and my prognosis continues to be excellent. Last year, I was released from my oncologist’s care. I realize I’m one of the lucky ones.

When I felt alone and isolated during my treatment and recovery, I turned to online community support groups. I suddenly went from feeling like no one could relate to my struggles to being in a position to offer hope to newly diagnosed patients. That initial shock and devastation of a cancer diagnosis were still fresh in my mind, but I had also successfully navigated life-changing surgeries and treatments and had come out the other side. Many newly diagnosed patients fear they won’t survive, and I was happy to be able to give them hope. I discovered the passion to help raise awareness about colon cancer.

Two colon cancer organizations stood out to me, and I began volunteering for both. I became a “buddy” for newly diagnosed colon cancer patients who asked to be matched with a survivor through the Colon Cancer Alliance (www. CCAlliance.org). I also wrote articles about survivors who agreed to share their story for the organization. In 2018, I initiated a proclamation that was signed by then-Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer during Colon Cancer Awareness Month. During the signing ceremony, Colyer told me that his brother died of colon cancer, so he knows how important screening is. I have continued to push to have that Kansas proclamation signed each March, which is Colon Cancer Awareness Month.

In 2020, I was named an ambassador for Fight CRC (colorectal cancer; www.FightCRC.org), an organization that works both to increase awareness and to put faces with the disease by using ambassadors from around the United States. We were encouraged to tell our story to each other and then to larger audiences. In March this year, I was interviewed by local television reporter Matt Stewart, who himself had been diagnosed with colon cancer in 2020. Sharing his story on television, he said his wife encouraged him to get a colonoscopy after rectal bleeding, a move that potentially saved his life. I shared my story as well, including my lack of symptoms and, if I hadn’t followed medical screening colonoscopy guidelines, my outcome would have likely been different.

Also in March, my image along with the other Fight CRC ambassadors appeared on a digital billboard in New York City’s Times Square. Those images of men and women of all ages and races impacted by colon cancer vividly illustrated that the disease can truly affect anyone. That month also brought virtual lobbying efforts with Washington, D.C., representatives of Kansas politicians including senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran as well as Representative Sharice Davids. Two other Kansas ambassadors and I shared our stories and asked for funding for colon cancer research. Our focus was on the children in our group who have not survived their battle.

Last year, guidelines for initial colon cancer screening were lowered from age 50 to age 45. Sadly, this reflects the number of younger patients being diagnosed. Through the groups and organizations I am associated with, I have seen children as young as 11 years old who have been diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. It truly is not just an “old person’s disease,” and it is even more heartbreaking to see children suffer through colon cancer until their bodies can no longer battle the cancer or tolerate the treatments.

Standing alongside Beth Kornegay as 2021 ambassadors for Fight CRC are three other Kansas residents, all hailing from Overland Park.

It was 2017 and at 29, Courtney Maurer had just been diagnosed with stage III colorectal cancer. “I think forming relationships at Fight CRC is important, and it’s kind of like a support system and family. I fight for others who are going through what I went through, and for the caregivers. I also fight for myself since I was young when diagnosed. I want to be an advocate and spread awareness so others can prevent this cancer,” Maurer says.

Rachel Moore was 28 when she received the same diagnosis. “I’m a wife, mother, and business owner whose life was flipped upside down with a very unexpected diagnosis. I work very hard to not only spread my message of early detection on my blog (www.shitsandgigglesinkc.com), but also of the power of positivity,” Moore says. “I believe my outlook and a strong sense of hope have helped my treatments be successful. I also come from a unique story in that of my high school graduating class of 250 students, five of us have been diagnosed with CRC all under the age of 40. We are currently working to find out why this unusual and troubling situation has occurred.”

Greg Vaughn heard the news when he was 48. “I fight for those who need hope, encouragement, and the warrior mindset to win another day,” Vaughn says. “I’m very passionate about not letting stage IV colorectal cancer keep me from enjoying life. I’m a pilot, a professional photographer who chases storms, a former professional cyclist, and I’ve run 97 marathons and 17 ultra-marathons of 100 miles or more. I’m not about to let cancer scare me or keep me from doing what I love. I strongly believe that by sharing my story and experiences, I will encourage others to stay strong and never give up their own fight.”

Colon Cancer Alliance, www.CCAlliance.org; helpline, 877-422-2030 (toll-free)

Fight Colorectal Cancer, www.FightColorectalCancer.org or www.FightCRC.org; helpline, 877-427-2111 (toll-free)