Most people don't get a T-shirt to commemorate the colonoscopy, but David Hangerford had a rare, life-changing experience.
A Long Island financial advisor was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in October 2023 after undergoing regular colonoscopy at 45.
“I was shocked,” Hangerford, now 47, recalled to the Post.
St. James residents had no symptoms or family history of colon cancer. Guidelines suggest Average risk people start to screen at 45. Less than 1% of colonoscopy Indicates cancer.
Now, Hungerford has become an informal cheerleader of colonoscopy. Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
“You have to take care of yourself,” he said. “I learned that in a way – the hard way.”
“There's a problem”
Hungerford's wife Jill appointed a colonoscopy to advise a family friend of the Northwell Health gastroenterologist.
“When I woke up [after the procedure]I was told the doctor wanted to see me,” Hangerford said. “And I thought, 'OK, he's a family friend.' He's probably going to say, “Everything's good.” And as soon as I sat down he said, “There's a problem.” ”
The scan revealed a small orange-sized tumor blocking the colon in Hangerford. The surgery was scheduled for the following month.
In the meantime, Hungerford worked on the weight of a catastrophic diagnosis. He then struggled to prepare the procedure.
He had to make sure his intestines were empty and there were no bacteria, but he couldn't go to the bathroom.
“I started to get nauseous and I actually started vomiting. What happened was that I was blocked,” Hangerford said. “That's why I was 100% blocked within the age of 24. [or] 48 hours of surgery. I began to panic. ”
A slow return to normality
Dr. David Ribadeneira I raised the surgery at Huntington Hospital and assured Hungerford that it was okay.
“David's tumor was a classic tumor in the colon and rectal areas, what was called adenocarcinoma, which is the most dominant type of cancer cells in the intestine,” Ribadenaira, director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Huntington, told the Post.
Hungerford received approximately five months of chemotherapy from December 2023 to May 2024. He energized the steroids of the treatment and felt “sweeped out” when they put them on.
He also had a colostomy bag, a pouch that collected stools from his body.
“I don't want that from anyone,” Hungerford lamented. “[It] It was very limited to someone about my age and what I was doing for my career. If you're at someone's home, or you're at work and something happens, you get nervous. ”
He threw away his bag when he got his colon back in July 2024.
Missed signs of cancer
Now, eight months have been removed from that surgery, Hungerford reflects his troublesome ordeal and signs he may have missed.
He said two of his bodies had revealed that he had not felt it but was slightly anemia before the cancer diagnosis.
“This is one of the major signs seen in patients with colorectal or bowel cancer in general,” Ribadeneira said.
When a colon tumor is bleeding, the body supply of red blood cells and iron, which is necessary to produce hemoglobin to supply oxygen to the tissue, is depleted, causing anemia.
Hungerford said that when he was diagnosed with colon cancer, he had low hemoglobin but no classic anemia symptoms of fatigue, weakness and dizziness.
He had 10 iron injections to boost hemoglobin before the tumor was removed.
Looking ahead
Recently, Hungerford has no cancer and his prognosis is excellent, Ribadeneira said.
“People need to remember that colon and rectal cancers are very curable cancers when they get caught up in the early stages,” he pointed out.
“If he hadn't had a colonoscopy and had waited longer, his symptoms could worsen, leading to perforation or rupture of the intestine, and there's no doubt that his overall cancer outcome has worsened.”
That's actually a big regret for Hangerford. He waited 10 months after he turned 45 to have a colonoscopy.
“If I had it [right] When I was 45, I probably wouldn't have blocked the morning of surgery,” Hangerford said. “It worked out between October 6th and November 2nd, and that was completely blocked from partially blocked.”
Now, he proudly wears a T-shirt that reads “Don't Sit anymore – Get a Screening for Colon Cancer,” and estimates that he has inspired more than 50 people to share his story on social media and sign up for a colonoscopy.
“I'm just trying to promote it from then,” he said.
