FC spreads cancer awareness
Almost every month of the year is dedicated to raising awareness of different types of cancer. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and Franklin County citizens have been doing their part to raise awareness in the community.
March 29 the Russellville Public Library will be hosting an event starting at 10:30 a.m. that focuses on this cause. Guest speakers will talk about preventative measures and other vital information about colorectal cancer.
“Anna (Duncan) approached me about doing this, I think, because she knew about my background,” RPL Director Ashley Cummins said.
Cummins shared her personal story about losing her grandmother to colon cancer. Her grandmother was 73 years old when doctors discovered she had cancer. That was when they found she had never had a colonoscopy, and her father had died of colon cancer.
“My grandmother showed no symptoms,” Cummins said. “If she had gotten a screening, they might have been able to stop it in time.”
Because colorectal cancer is hereditary, Cummins said she has committed to getting regular screenings as a preventative measure and encourages others to do the same.
“A lot of people don’t want to because it’s uncomfortable, but I guarantee you it’s far less uncomfortable than dying of cancer or watching someone you love die of cancer,” she said.
Duncan, community development manager with the American Cancer Society, put it simply: Colorectal cancer is beatable, treatable and preventable.
Franklin County citizen Milford “Mousy” Brown knows all too well how true that statement is. July 14 of this year will mark 20 years since he was diagnosed with colon cancer. At the age of 54, he was diagnosed and underwent surgery all in the same day. Eighteen inches of his intestines were removed – 6 inches where the cancer was, plus 6 inches above and below that spot. He endured 30 rounds of chemo.
“If I had gone at the recommended age of 50, it might have just been a polyp, but it had eaten through my intestines,” Brown said.
Prior to discovering the cancer, his doctors had misdiagnosed him with diverticulitis and diverticulosis because they never did a colonoscopy.
“Don’t wait until you start having issues,” Brown said. “Even if you’re under the age of 50, you need to get screened.”
According to the American Cancer Society, the rate of colorectal cancer diagnoses in young people is continuing to rise, and the ACS encourages people of all ages to take preventative measures.
At the March 23 Russellville City Council meeting, Mayor David Grissom declared March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month for the city of Russellville.
