My mother passed away from colorectal cancer in 2020 just at the start of the pandemic, she was 58 years old. Her doctor refused to give her a routine test at 50 which would have caught her cancer. 

My mother chose to fight the cancer. She braved through a colostomy to be able to travel to the UK to see my graduation. She was a real estate agent and worked tirelessly with clients even on her "bad" days. Despite having radiation, different types of chemotherapy, and numerous procedures, my mother powered through. On at least three different occasions we were told after the fact that the doctors had, in fact, not done all that they could. 

Before Christmas 2020, my mother's doctors were hopeful about using the "c" word-- they even took her off of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, after Christmas, during a trial for a drug, the techs who were biopsying missed her cancer. In the interim of being off the chemo for the drug trial her cancer spread to such an extent that she entered into hospice in March 2020. 

We did this walk in back in 2017 after her first round of radiation therapy and chemo, when the doctors had thought they had gotten it all. We celebrated her being a survivor of colorectal cancer at the end of this walk. This year I will be walking to remember her memory and raise awareness for this disease. Make sure to get your screenings and be a self-advocate-- lets crush colorectal cancer.