I finished up my collegiate track career at the beginning of May of 2023 and three weeks later had a colonoscopy due to some G.I. unrest that I had been experiencing for the last year or so. During the colonoscopy, a mass was found in my colon. I celebrated my 22nd birthday on May 29th and by the beginning of June, I had a CT scan to check for metastasis. Unfortunately, my colon tumor had already metastasized to my liver and lymphatic system, landing me with a stage 4 diagnosis. I endured twelve rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, with the last one landing me in the hospital with extreme chemo toxicity. My weight got down to 102 pounds and I’m 5’8. This hospital stay was a little bit of a blessing in disguise though as it allowed me a chemo break to get healthy enough for surgery. On January 24th, I had surgery to remove my colon tumor, surrounding lymph nodes, and the liver lesions with clean margins. But pathology found I did have some positive nodes and only a partial response to treatment rather than a complete response. Due to this, I am back on chemotherapy until my next scan at the end of April. Because of the lymphatic system’s involvement, it is unlikely I will reach complete remission, barring any new miracle drugs coming down the pipeline.
Sarah’s LifeList:
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An AirBNB in Eugene, Oregon to watch the U.S. Olympic Track Trials