Rory Kennedy, 36, has no family history of cancer. He is not overweight, and he has always maintained a healthy lifestyle – a clean diet, regular exercises, without smoking or drinking.
So when he was diagnosed with colon cancer in stage 3C last September, he was a friend, to say at least.
“I don’t have a single note of colon cancer,” he told the post. â € œno cause root. They only said something happened in your body that something mutated .â €
It all started in 2022, when Kennedy experienced a black week, Tarry Stools – which can be caused by anything that ranges from gastrointestinal bleeding to eating many blueberries.
He went to an emergency care clinic, where he was probably “just one ulcer” or some bacteria, given some medicines and sent home.
â € œ I have received [the drugs] And the symptoms seemed to relieve the next month, “he said.
Flash ahead for June 2024, when Kennedy saw a single bloody stool – one of the most prominent signs of colon cancer – and decided to see a gastroenterologist, especially after he had interacted stomach pain “which is another common sign.
“He told me immediately that if I had black, white outside stools then, I should have received a colonoscopy and endoscopy immediately,” Kennedy said.
Although colorectal cancer can sometimes be asymptomatic, Dr. Kiranmayi Muddasani, a staff surgeon in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, told the post that a change in the most common habits.
“That is why a colonoscopy is the best way to detect and treat it earlier,” he said.
After they performed those procedures in Kennedy, he heard a sentence that no one ever wants to hear.
“This is when I was hit with the news brick,” You have a mass in your colon, “he said. I was surprised. I had no idea. I knew there was something that was happening, but I realized that I just had a polyp that was bleeding or a harm to the gut or something else.
What followed was intensive intensive surgery at the Mount Sinai medical center in Miami, during which 10 inches of colon, some small intestine, appendix and 45 lymph nodes were removed. Cancer was found at eight out of 45 lymph nodes, leading to a 3C phase diagnosis in September 2024.
“There are letters included because I think every step is a little worse. So as 3a is not as bad as 3B, which is not as bad as 3C. 3C is the last letter for Phase 3,” he said.
“So I’m basically a level away from phase 4.â €
It was, to say at least, devastating.
“Have you ever taken a pizza burn? When you eat a hot pizza and it burns the top of the mouth? Imagine that feeling anywhere.”
Rory Kennedy
“I would say from the time I learned [the diagnosis] And all the way to like a month later, you are simply in a terrible space, “he said.” I have a wife, I have a newborn baby who just returned one day I was doing operations. “
He began the treatment of chemotherapy, which has received a physical number in his body.
“There are many side effects,” he said. “You get annoying, you can’t sleep because you are on steroid the first days that are supposed to relieve nausea, but you are still annoying so you are taking pills for this.â €
Kimio weakens the immune system, leading to frequent illnesses – which means he cannot be around his young son as much as he wants.
When he takes tears in his eyes, they burn-and so does his mouth, a less known state known as “Kimo mouth”.
“Have you ever taken a pizza burn? When you eat a hot pizza and it burns the upper part of your mouth? Imagine that feeling everywhere – in your mouth, gums and in your throat,” he said.
Still, Kennedy believes that the most difficult part of having cancer is uncertainty.
“The mental is definitely the worst part because physical time heals,” he said.
â € is really challenging because all the scenarios just go through your mind. Oh my gosh, I won’t see my baby go to kindergarten or won’t see her high school graduate or get married or any of these things. Oh my gosh, I may not be able to have another child. My wife will continue without a man. Do I tell her to find a new man? Should I build a will? Â €
He credits his wife, Facebook support groups to people with cancer and his confidence to get it during the darkest days.
â € œ times, I wonder – when I had the black terrass [stools]I wish the doctor had told me then, â € ˜hey, I am referring to you in a gi.â â €
Rory Kennedy
“I am a Christian and I would say he has made me an even stronger Christian, made me even more faithful,” he said.
And, throughout the pain, getting cancer has given him a silver lining – it made him practice mind.
“On the good side, I’ve been most present at the moment because I don’t know how good good times I will have,” he said.
Currently, Kennedy is finishing Kimo, after which he will undergo scanning and blood tests to control cancer. If the tests are clear, he will be in forgiveness, but he will have a 40-50% chance of repetition.
If he is without cancer for five years, he will be downloaded-but still faces a risk of 10%life recurrence.
These days, he is feeling much better, especially after the preliminary tests they are done have been clearly displayed. But if there is one thing he regrets – is that he has not received a colonoscopy faster.
â € œ times, I wonder – when I had the black terrass [stools]I wish the doctor had told me then, â € ˜hey, I am referring to you in a gi.â â €
He has decided to share his story in the hope of encouraging people to get colonoscopy, pointing out that a colonoscopy is the only way to prevent colon cancer by removing precancerous polyps.
He also stressed that “contrary to the usual trust – the procedure is fast, painless (under anesthesia) and easy to recover. And of course it beats the alternative.
“I don’t want other people to spend that,” he said.
“I don’t recommend a lot of cancer, it’s not really fun. I would prefer to do 30 colonoscopy in a row than to go through chemistry -freaking.â €
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