Omerror, a retired school teacher, visited a primary care doctor for the first time in two decades. This visit led to a referral to GastroIntestinal Specialists (GIS) for a colonoscopy, during which a large cancerous polyp was found by Dr. Nicolas LaBarre at GIS. Following the successful removal of the polyp and her recovery, Omerror has become a passionate advocate who encourages others to get screened.

Transcript

Omerror:

I’m a retired school teacher. Taught at several schools in the city: elementary and middle. Every year at school, you have to fill out an information form, and they always put name of doctor. I would always put Jesus because I hadn’t been to the doctor. It had been at least 20 years. My friends were saying, ‘At your age,’ I’m 72. They said, ‘at your age, you need to go.’

Dr. LaBarre:

Miss Dawson was referred to us by a primary care provider. That primary care doctor astutely noticed that she had not yet seen a gastroenterologist. We offered her the chance of screening for colon cancer through a colonoscopy, and she agreed to do that. Unfortunately, I found a large colon polyp, potentially a colon mass.

Omerror:

He said if it had been a small polyp, he could have removed it during the colonoscopy. It was bigger than that, so I had to have surgery. I’m like, surgery? No one in my family has ever had surgery. None of my brothers or sisters. I was very apprehensive, but he was so kind and gentle in what he said and how he handled it and tried to put my fears to rest. I was content to have that procedure.

Dr. LaBarre:

She saw the surgeon and quickly underwent surgery to have that portion of her colon removed. Sure enough, the surgical pathology did confirm that that was colon cancer.

Omerror:

I said, ‘Lord, am I going to die?’ He said, ‘Yes, but not today.’

Dr. LaBarre:

She did not have any spread of disease. She was very fortunate, and is now doing very well.

Omerror:

There’s a relief in knowing that it’s clear. There’s a relief in knowing that it’s out. Dr. LaBarre played a big portion of encouragement and enthusiastic about the possibilities after the procedures.

Dr. LaBarre:

The size of the mass that Miss Dawson had … Perhaps within 6 months to a year or maybe a little longer, she could have had very advanced stage disease where that cancer had actually traveled outside the colon, spread to other organs.

Omerror:

To everyone that is close to my age: Hey, go get these things checked out. Don’t wait till the last minute. Not only for yourself. We have to stop living for ourselves but for our family and friends that can see the example that we give. These initial procedures can help prolong your life.