As some of you know, my father, Bryant Barnhardt, is a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed while I was in college with Stage 2 colorectal cancer. He was 48 years old…two years before you traditionally get a colonoscopy. Thankfully, because of the incredible doctors at Duke Medical, he was able to get the treatment and care to remove the cancer and become the healthy man he is today. He just recently retired after working over 40 years at the same company. Congrats, Dad! I recently just got my first colonoscopy at the age of 32. I dislike medical things and find every reason to avoid them. However, I am thankful that I had my procedure because they found something that needed to be removed. I now have a clean bill of health and don’t need another one for five years. I’m also here to report that it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be. In fact, it wasn’t bad at all.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the U.S, with over 140,000 people being diagnosed each year. Recent advances have significantly contributed to improving screening, treatment, and have resulted in a growing population of colorectal cancer survivors. Please help me support the Duke Cancer Institute GI Oncology multidisciplinary program who is dedicated to caring for patients with colorectal cancer, finding better treatments, and raising public awareness of colorectal cancer.