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<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Her husband, Chris, has always urged to obtain a colonoscopy – a procedure, performed under sedation, to evaluate gastrointestinal problems, such as changes in intestinal habits and rectal bleeding, as well as to detect colorectal polyps and cancer in the large intestine (colon) and the rectum. She agreed and on the day of the colonoscopy, they had an unexpected surprise. "I spent all the preparation on the procedure, including a pregnancy test," Lauren told Yahoo Lifestyle. "But as I was getting ready for anesthesia, the results came: I was Pregnant. "" Data-reactid = "32"> Her husband, Chris, has always urged her to undergo a colonoscopy – a procedure performed under sedation, to evaluate gastrointestinal problems, such as changes in # 39; intestinal habits and rectal bleeding, as well as detect colorectal polyps and cancer in the large intestine (colon) and rectum. She agreed and on the day of the colonoscopy, they had an unexpected surprise. "I spent all the preparation in the procedure, including a pregnancy test." Lauren told Yahoo Lifestyle: "But by the time I was getting ready for anesthesia, the results came: I was pregnant.
Delighted by this unexpected news, Lauren decided to postpone colonoscopy because she did not want to subject her unborn baby to anesthesia. She sailed during her pregnancy and Lauren and her obstetrician attributed this occasional bleeding to hemorrhoids related to pregnancy or constipation. On January 9, 2016, she gave birth to the little daughter Charlie Elizabeth.
Lauren Riccotone with her husband Chris. (Photo courtesy Lauren Riccotone)
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Taken in the realities of the new maternityLauren did not even think about postponing her colonoscopy. Two weeks after the birth, the disaster struck: "I went to the bathroom and suddenly there was blood everywhere, both rectum and vagina," she recalls. "I was so dizzy and weak that I could barely stand." "Data-reactid =" 54 "> Caught in the realities of the new maternity, Lauren did not even think about reprogramming her colonoscopy . But two weeks after giving birth, a disaster "I went to the bathroom and suddenly there was blood everywhere, both rectum and vagina," she recalls. I was so dizzy and weak that I could barely bear. "
Concerned by the fact that it 's a complication of delivery, Chris rushed out of his paramedic work to take Lauren to the hospital. ;emergency. She was diagnosed with colitis or inflammation of the lining of the colon. "I had a two week old baby that I was trying to breastfeed. So I managed to get my leave after about 48 hours, as long as I had a colonoscopy, "she says.
She went into waiting for a diagnosis of hemorrhoids and remained stunned: Lauren had stage 3B colorectal cancer. "When I woke up after the intervention, the nurse hugged me and told me that she was going to have my husband, which I found weird" , she recalls. "Even after hearing the news, I was in total shock. I did not cry, I was totally incredulous. I was so young and I had no family history of colon cancer. It did not seem possible. "
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Since Lauren was a nurse, her paramedic paramedic husband, they knew the local medical community well and were able to get an appointment the next day with Sanjay Reddy, MD, an oncologist Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. "The tumor was so big that Dr. Reddy said that she would have perforated my intestine in a few days," she says. But she came out with Reddy's cell phone number and a sense of comfort. "I really liked him – I came up with a ton of questions and he sat down with me and made sure to go through them all," says Lauren. "I felt very comfortable with his care." "Data-reactid =" 57 "> As Lauren was a nurse and her ambulance husband, they knew the local medical community well and were able to get an appointment the next day Sanjay Reddy, MD, oncologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia "The tumor was so big that Dr. Reddy said that she would have perforated my intestine in a few days," she said. But she came out with Reddy's cell phone number and I felt reassured. "I loved him automatically, I came up with a ton of questions and he sat down with me and made sure to look at them all," says Lauren. "I felt very comfortable with his care."
In March 2016, Reddy operated. "That killed me by getting away from my daughter – the operation took place on Good Friday and Chris took her to see her at Easter, and all I could think of was that she was not there. was that thank God she is so small that she does not remember that mom is sick, "says Lauren.
Lauren Riccotone with her kids and her husband Chris at Disney. (Photo courtesy Lauren Riccotone)
But Lauren's ordeal was not over yet. She had to start chemotherapy immediately for six months, which meant that she had to not only fight the nausea and exhaustion that broke the bones, but also stop feeding her daughter. Her mother took early retirement so that she could temporarily move to Lauren and help her with Charlie. Midway through her chemotherapy, Lauren went back to work, but she had to call from the first day, when blood tests revealed that her white blood cell count was so low that it would be dangerous to let work in an emergency room.
Finally, in February 2017, it seemed like the end was in sight. Lauren had finished her chemotherapy and was spending time with her husband, baby, and two dogs. She was still suffering from residual nausea and fatigue, which her doctors had assured her that she was cured of chemotherapy. But when she found herself in the ER with a stomach virus, Lauren had another surprise: she was pregnant again. "I had never had my period, but I had just thought that chemotherapy had put me in premature menopause," she says.
<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Delighted, Lauren started planning her second pregnancy. She was waiting for it, her follow-up scanner for cancer screening had to be put on hold, her son Michael was born in August 2017. A month later she had her first exam, to learn that she had spots on the lung, her colon cancer had metastasized and spread to her lungs.& nbsp; She would need an immediate surgery. "Data-reactid =" 83 "> Delighted, Lauren started planning for her second pregnancy, and as she was waiting for her, her cancer tracking follow-up scanner had to be put on hold. in August 2017. A month later, she underwent her first sweep, only to learn that she had spots on her lung and that her colon cancer had metastasized and spread to her lungs. She would need an immediate surgery.
Lauren was devastated. "I was there again, with a newborn and a diagnosis of cancer," she says. But she was determined and jumped into action. "We knew we would need 24-hour care for a month, and Michael only had four weeks. I have therefore written a schedule from 7 am to 10 pm. Every day, family members and friends would take turns watching the children while I recuperated, "she says.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Once restored, Lauren is handed over to "I was working at night, leaving work at 7 am, going into chemo at 8 am and sleeping in a chemo chair while I knew my children were at home with my mother," she says. Today, 16 months later, Lauren is still disease free and determined to stay that way.& nbsp;The five-year survival rate for stage four colon cancer is only 14%, according to the Alliance against colorectal cancerbut Lauren is confident she will beat those chances. "I have so many reasons to live. Every time I come home from work and see my children so healthy and happy, it motivates me to keep fighting, "she says. "Data-reactid =" 85 "> Once she recovered, Lauren" I was working at night, I was leaving work at 7 am, I was going into chemo at 8 am and I was sleeping in the chemo chair during that I knew my children were at home with my mother. "16 months later, Lauren still has not contracted the disease and is determined to stay that way. Five-year survival rates for stage four colon cancer are only 14%, according to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, but Lauren is confident that she will overcome these barriers. "I have so many reasons to live. Every time I come home from work and see my children so healthy and happy, it motivates me to keep fighting, "she says.
<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "In the meantime, Lauren s" is also thrown into advocacy to educate young adults about the disease.Colon cancer and rectal cancer are on the rise in generation X and millennials at record rates: about 30% of new cancers of the rectum, for example, are now diagnosed in people younger than 55 years, double what they were in 1990, according to a report from 2017 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "data-reactid =" 86 "> In the meantime, Lauren is also involved in advocacy activities to educate young adults about the disease.Colon cancer and rectal cancer are rise in the X and millennial generations at record rates: about 30 For example, the percentage of new cancers of the rectum diagnosed in people under 55 is now twice as high as it was in 1990, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
"I work in a health department of a large health system. So I treat cancer every day, including young people, young people, "says Lauren. "But many people my age do not recognize that it can happen to them."
If you have any signs of colon cancer, such as bleeding, diarrhea or constipation, that do not go away after a few days, see your doctor immediately. "Even some doctors will evacuate bleeding in a 30-year-old woman with hemorrhoids," says Lauren. "But it should still always be checked with a colonoscopy."
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