I was diagnosed with colon cancer in November of 2023 after a year and a half of having periodic blood in my stool and asking for a colonoscopy. By December 2023, I was having colon resection surgery, and afterwards I was told that no lymph nodes were involved and no cancer was shown in my blood, so I was cleared!
At my six-month follow-up in July of 2024, a scan revealed about a dozen nodules between both lungs, and other tests confirmed a recurrence. From there, I underwent a PET scan, an MRI, and a lung biopsy where they shoved a giant needle in between my ribs and clipped the tumors for testing while I was awake. All of these tests confirmed it was colon cancer in my lungs, so I was declared stage IV.
In Late September of 2024, I began 12 rounds of chemo and completed this regimen in late February of 2025. Unfortunately, this treatment has left me with neuropathy in my hands and feet, so after over 20 years of being a guitar player and being in various bands, I’m no longer able to play the guitar. Following the chemo, I had another scan which showed only about four nodules remaining between both lungs and no new nodules anywhere else in my body! I will now undergo a month of radiation on both lungs in hopes of being declared “no evidence of disease.” Unfortunately, I do not have much family, so I have been relying heavily on my loving girlfriend to organize my appointments and documents and support me.
John’s LifeList:
- A trip with my girlfriend somewhere scenic, like Colorado, Montana, or North Carolina