>>>
>>> COLORECTAL CANCER IS THE NATION'S SECOND LEADING CAUSE
OF DEATH FOR MEN AND WOMEN.
TODAY IS DRESS BLUE DAY.
JOINING US IS THE
GASTROENTEROLOGIST AND KENDRA
MITCHELL WHO IS A COLORECTAL
CANCER SURVIVAL SURVIVOR.
>> WE WANT TO START WITH KENDRA.
WE WANT TO HER ABOUT YOUR STORY
AND HOW DID YOU GET DIAGNOSED?
>> IS A TYPICAL YOUNG PERSON I
HAD JUST GOTTEN MARRIED AND
MOVED TO DENVER AND HAD NO IDEA
WHAT A COLONOSCOPY EVEN WAS AND
HAD A LOT OF PAIN FOR ABOUT
NINE MONTHS THAT I JUST KIND OF
PASSED OFF AS I'M NOT DRINKING
ENOUGH WATER, THAT KIND OF
THING.
THING.
THING. AND WHEN I FINALLY GOT THE
COURAGE UP TO TELL MY HUSBAND,
THANKFULLY HE SAID RIGHT AWAY
YOU ARE GOING TO THE DOCTOR
TODAY.
TODAY.
TODAY. AND ACTUALLY, WITHIN A DAY I
WAS HAVING A COLONOSCOPY AND
GETTING THE TREATMENT AND
WITHIN THE THREE OR FOUR DAYS I
FOUND OUT I WAS AT THE STAGE
ONE:CANCER.
ONE:CANCER. >> MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT HAS
BEEN DECLINING FOR DECADES
BECAUSE OF THE WORK WE ARE ABLE
TO DO SOONER WITH PATIENTS, THE
PROTECTION AND THE WORK WE ARE
ABLE TO DO.
KENDRA IS PRETTY YOUNG.
OUR PEOPLE THIS YOUNG SUPPOSED
TO BE GETTING COLONOSCOPIES?
>> NOT ROUTINELY, BUT IT IS
VERY IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE
THAT THE NUMBER OF NEW CASES OF
COLON CANCER HAS BEEN DECLINING
SINCE THE 1980S IN PEOPLE OVER
AGE 50.
AGE 50.
AGE 50. BUT, THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH
PEOPLE UNDER 50.
THE INCIDENTS IS GOING UP FOR
REASONS WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
>> MAYBE WE SHOULD MOVE THAT
BAR DOWN FOR WHEN WE ARE
CHECKING PEOPLE?
CHECKING PEOPLE? >> LATE LAST YEAR THE AMERICAN
CANCER SOCIETY CHANGED THE
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 50 245
BECAUSE THEY REANALYZED THE DATA
, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THIS
INCREASING INCIDENCE IN THE
YOUNG AND MADE THAT
RECOMMENTION.
RECOMMENTION. I THINK THAT WHEN THAT BECOMES
WIDELY ADOPTED THAT WILL HAVE
AN IMPACT.
AN IMPACT. BUT, KENDRA WAS IN HER 30s.
SO, IDENTIFICATION OF SYMPTOMS
AND RECOGNIZING THAT SYMPTOMS
IN YOUNG PEOPLE CAN HELP TO
BEAT:CANCER IS PART OF IT.
ANY UNEXPLAINED ABDOMINAL PAIN,
AND EXPLAINED WEIGHT LOSS, THAT
CAN BE RELATED EVEN IN THE
YOUNG.
YOUNG.
YOUNG. IT
YOUNG. IT IS A MISTAKE TO ATTRIBUTE
RECTAL BLEEDING TO HEMORRHOIDS
AND NOT GETTING EVALUATED.
IT IS A MISTAKE FOR PEOPLE WHO
HAVE BLEEDING, AND FOR THEIR
PROVIDERS.
PROVIDERS. WE HAVE TO TAKE IT IS PART OF
IT.
IT.
IT. >>
IT. >> I
IT. >> I THINK PERSONALLY PEOPLE
OUT THERE THAT WERE MAYBE
AFRAID OF HOW YOU WERE AT
FIRST.
FIRST.
FIRST. WHY COME FORWARD NOW?
>> ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS ABOUT MY STORY IS THAT I
AM KIND OF LIVING PROOF THAT I
HAD GREAT CARE AND THEY NEED TO
SEND ME FOR THE RIGHT TESTS.
BECAUSE OF THAT I CAUGHT THE
DISEASE EARLY AND WAS ABLE TO
TREATED AND MOVE ON WITH MY
LIFE.
LIFE.
LIFE. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE
COMPLICATIONS, BUT I CAN SAY IN
SEPTEMBER IT WILL BE FIVE
YEARS.
YEARS.
YEARS. SO
YEARS. SO OFFICIALLY CANCER FREE.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO MOVE PAST
THIS.
THIS.
THIS. BUT, THE TROUBLE AND THE SCARY
PART COMES IN IF YOU WAIT TOO
LONG AND YOU DO NOT GET
TREATED.
TREATED.
TREATED. I HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS THAT
WERE MISDIAGNOSED FOR WEEKS,
MONTHS, OR YEARS AND ARE
SUFFERING THE CONSEQUENCES NOW.
>> I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WHAT
LIFE IS LIKE AFTER DETECTION,
AFTER DIAGNOSIS, AND WHAT KIND
OF TREATMENT YOU HAD TO
UNDERGO.
UNDERGO.
UNDERGO. >> I WAS, AGAIN BECAUSE THE
CONTENT EARLY I WAS LUCKY.
I DID NOT HAVE TO DO CHEMO OR
RADIATION.
RADIATION. I HAD SURGERY AND REMOVE PART
OF THE:BUT I WAS BASICALLY GOOD
TO GO AFTER THAT.
AND IT REALLY DROVE ME TO
ADVOCATE FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO
CHECK YOUR BODY EARLY.
THROUGH THAT I HAVE MET SO MANY
IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN IT IS KIND
OF BEEN A SIDE GIFT OF CANCER
TO BE ABLE TO KNOW THAT THIS
COMMUNITY IS OUT THERE TO
AFFECT CHANGE IN THE MEDICAL
INDUSTRY ABOUT HOW WE CAN
PREVENT IT.
PREVENT IT. THAT IS IMPORTANT.
>> YOU HAVE ANOTHER STORY YOU
WANTED TO SHARE?
>> I HAVE SO MANY FRIENDS OUT
THERE BUT THERE IS ONE IN
PARTICULAR, HER NAME IS
MADELEINE AND WE MET BRIEFLY
AND WHEN I MET HER I KNEW THAT
SHE WAS NOT GOING TO BE WITH US
LONG AND SHE IMPACTED MY LIFE
SO MUCH AND SHE DID SO MUCH TO
TELL OTHER PEOPLE TO GET
THEMSELVES CHECKED.
THEMSELVES CHECKED. SHE FOUND OUT AT STAGE 4, SO IT
WAS HARDER FOR HER AND SHE
PASSED LAST SUMMER.
>> IS SHE ONE OF THE REASONS
THAT HE WANTED TO SPEAK OUT ON
THIS?
THIS?
THIS? >>
THIS? >> ABSOLUTELY. I
MET HER WHEN WE WERE ALREADY
SPEAKING OUT BUT WE HAD SUCH A
GREAT BOND AND THERE ARE SOME
OF THE PEOPLE I HAVE MET LIKE
HER THAT I LOVED JUST AS MUCH
AND I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW
ABOUT BECAUSE THAT LEGACY HELPS
US TO REMEMBER WHY WE ARE
TRYING TO END THIS DISEASE.
>> IS THERE ONE THING THAT HE
WOULD TELL PEOPLE ONE PLACE
THEY CAN LEARN MORE TO MAKE
SURE THEY ARE PREPARED?
>> I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING TO RECOGNIZE IS THAT
SCREENING FOR CANCER IS VERY
EFFECTIVE.
EFFECTIVE. IF WE DID MORE SCREENING WE CAN
DECREASE DECREASED THE RISK
BY UP TO 80%.
SO, SCREENING REALLY WORKS FOR
COLORECTAL CANCER.
COLORECTAL CANCER. IT HOPES TO IDENTIFY THE POLYPS
BEFORE THEY CAN DEVELOP INTO
CANCER AND ACTUALLY PREVENT THE
DISEASE.
DISEASE.
DISEASE. IT IS DIFFERENT THAN A
SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER
WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A
DISEASE.
DISEASE.
DISEASE. HERE, YOU CAN PREVENT THE
DISEASE AS WELL.
EVERYBODY SHOULD GET SCREENED
AT AGE 45 OR 50.
THAT IS THE SINGLE MOST
IMPORTANT THING.
IMPORTANT THING. BUT, NOT IGNORING SYMPTOMS IS
IMPORTANT