Joseph Flickner
Joseph's wife begged him to get a colonoscopy. Now they fight a stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis.
The checkup he almost skipped – and the cancer it caught
One crappy day is better than cancer. I learned that the hard way.
I have colorectal cancer and a bossy wife.
I can never thank my wife enough for being so bossy. She said, “Joe, if you come home without scheduling a colonoscopy, I’m going to drag you in there and make sure you get one.” See? Bossy. But thankfully, that didn’t have to happen as the doctor agreed, after I insisted.
My journey starts with me thinking about the small things I was experiencing, like my stools getting softer and having more gas, were simply from getting older.
Fast forward a couple of years later to October 2024. I saw some blood in my stool. Such a tiny bit that I called in my wife, and we were saying, “Is that actually blood? Yes? No?” We decided that yes, it was blood. Combined with some stomach cramping and a few more digestion issues and I just thought something was going on with my GI tract. That’s all. Plus, I am in my early thirties, so it’s too early for me to get a colonoscopy.
But cancer runs in my family. My mom passed away a few years ago, and my aunt had cancer around the same time. Neither had colorectal cancer, but nonetheless, cancer was on my mind.
The first time I went to the doctor they said I was just wiping too hard. I thought there was no way that was true, but that’s what the doctor said so I went with it. Then I had a bout of diarrhea that was horrible. I knew something was wrong. So that’s when I insisted on the colonoscopy.
After, the doctor showed me the photos, it was not a small tumor. It was four centimeters. That’s a decent size. The doctor said he could tell by the appearance it was cancerous, and the biopsy would confirm it days later. Not only was it cancer, but it was stage three colorectal cancer.
That was November 2024, a couple weeks after I turned 32. My oncologist is recommending eight rounds of chemotherapy, and I started the week before Christmas.
I’ve had this conversation with other people diagnosed with cancer. The time between when you are diagnosed and when you meet with your team to decide “the plan” is the worst part. My cancer care team at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network at Menorah Medical Center were great at communicating with me, but there was still a lot of anxiety. You are living in the unknown. Then when you get your plan of attack it’s a relief. My plan is after chemotherapy, I will probably need radiation followed by surgery. It might change. But I have a plan, I know what’s going on and I know what I’m doing. It might go south. But the best case is I could be cured.
I can’t reinforce this enough. You know your body. If you have a bad feeling, go to the doctor. I was told at one point I am wiping too hard. So, I went from that to stage three cancer. There are many cancers that have very little symptoms and side effects until they’re at an advanced stage. I’ll say this again. Go to the doctor.
Many times, colorectal cancers are 100 percent preventable. You get a colonoscopy, see a polyp, cut it out, and you’re done. It’s the number one cause of cause of cancer death in men under 50, and it doesn’t need to be that way.
Go to the doctor, get that colonoscopy. I know people talk about the prep day being so horrible. But isn’t one crappy day better than cancer? I think so.
Cancer care in Kansas City
HCA Midwest Health offers comprehensive care of all cancer types. We are proud to partner with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute to bring you innovative treatments and compassionate support services. Additionally, our hospitals are accredited by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) quality program for excellence in oncology services.