Dear Jack
Foundation

Devon

Active LifeList Participant

In November of 2022, I celebrated my 30th birthday in Palm Springs, California, and was lucky to attend Pride at the same time. I loved it so much that I ended up accepting a travel work contract to work in the school system as an occupational therapist. My partner and I packed up our hatchback and cat and drove back down to Palm Springs in January of 2023. Unfortunately, about a month and a half into my contract, I started experiencing GI symptoms that were new to me. Initially, I thought I was just finally developing IBS, so I reached out to my PCP with my symptoms. She encouraged me to see a GI doctor. I was able to get in fairly quickly and, after an exam, the doctor told me it could be cancer. This was distressing, but by this point, I was beginning to suspect that was the case.

The cancer was confirmed by a colonoscopy the following week and, due to my worsening symptoms, it was determined that the best treatment was a colostomy. After that surgery, we returned home, where I started treatment. My cancer was diagnosed as stage III due to local lymph node involvement. I did six weeks of radiation, four months of chemo, and finally, an APR surgery that resulted in my colostomy being permanent. I was NED for six months until August of 2024 when my regular scans revealed my cancer had spread to two distant lymph nodes. This meant I was officially stage IV, which was scary. However, my team felt that with chemo and radiation, I could become NED again. I’m currently finishing up chemo and will start radiation soon—stay tuned.

Throughout this whole process, I have thought a lot about how this cancer and treatment have affected my relationships, sexuality, daily life, and more. As a pansexual woman, the LGBTQ+ community is close to my heart, and the impact of this type of cancer on the community is clear. It’s important to me that people have a space where these discussions can be frank and open.

Devon’s LifeList:

  1. Trip with her partner

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