February 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Guests: Stacy Hurt – A colon cancer survivor, American Cancer Society Pittsburgh-Area Board Member, and the Chief Patient Officer at Parexel. Dan Tobin – American Cancer Society Director of Marketing and Communications.
About Stacy:
· Stacy was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer at the age of 44 back in 2014.
· By the time it was diagnosed, it had spread to 27 different places in her body – rectum, liver, lungs, and liver among them.
· She faced a rough journey with not-so-good odds at pulling through.
· She did pull through! And, today, is cancer-free!!!
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month· Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. Although the rate of people being diagnosed with this type of cancer has dropped overall since the mid-1980s, it is worth noting that younger adults have seen a higher incidence of diagnosis since the mid-1990s.
About Stacy:
· Stacy was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer at the age of 44 back in 2014.
· By the time it was diagnosed, it had spread to 27 different places in her body – rectum, liver, lungs, and liver among them.
· She faced a rough journey with not-so-good odds at pulling through.
· She did pull through! And, today, is cancer-free!!!
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month· Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. Although the rate of people being diagnosed with this type of cancer has dropped overall since the mid-1980s, it is worth noting that younger adults have seen a higher incidence of diagnosis since the mid-1990s.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
And welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest, issues, and concerns of the
greater Pittsburgh AIA. Good morning. My name is Johnny Heart
Will your host, and March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
This month is dedicated to raising awareness about colorectal cancer,
promoting early detection, and encouraging screening to prevent the disease
and to help us out. We have a couple of
(00:27):
friends here, an old friend, Dan Tobin. Haven't seen you
in quite some time, but it's always good to see you. He,
of course, is from the American Cancer Society, is the
director of Marketing and Communication. Dan. How are you, sir?
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's great to be here. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Introduce your special friend here because she's a rock star, isn't.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
She is definitely a rock star with me today. She's
not only a board member with the American Cancer Society
here in the Pittsburgh area, she's also a colon cancer survivor.
And it's Stacy Hurt. I must forgot to see her.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Name, Stacy.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Welcome, Thanks Johnny, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
You have quite a story, don't you.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I do, I do, and it wasn't anything I ever expected,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, So let me start describing you had stage four
colon cancer, correct, and that from what I've read, you
have about a thirteen percent chance of surviving five years. Correct,
And it's been how long for you?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I just hit ten years in twenty twenty four, So
I always applauded that too. I love that never gets old.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
And for all intentsive purposes, your cancer free. You're You're
like a walking, talking miracle.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I am, I am, and I wake up grateful for
the miracle of my life every day, every single day.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Now. My father passed away of colon cancer back in
two thousand and eight. He survived five years, and that
was I was grateful to have that man. He was
metastatic as well. But let start from the beginning. When
when you were first diagnosed, because colon cancer sometimes doesn't
the symptoms, aren't you don't feel it right away?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So did you have some sort of symptoms?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I start with I did. I did. I had pain,
I had abdominal pain, I had blood in my stole, fatigue, constipation.
But I was the healthiest person you would have known
at age forty three. I was an athlete. I went
to Norway High School, played basketball and volleyball. Fit. I
(02:33):
was out running the day before my colonoscopy, and so
when I had these symptoms, I just thought, you know,
they're annoying. Maybe it's hemorrhoids, whatever it is. And the
pain got too much to bear. So my husband actually
urged me, said go see your doctor. So I went
to see her and she said, you know what, You're
really healthy, but let's order a colonoscopy just to be sure.
(02:55):
And so I went for the colonoscopy and it revealed
the worst case scenario, and I remember it to this day.
When the GI woke me up and he said, I
had to stop the knoscopy because you have a tumor
in your rectum so big I couldn't get the scope
around it, so they had to stop the procedure. Woke
(03:16):
me up and he said the words nobody wants to
hear you have cancer. And I said, how does that
even happen. I'm a non smoker, I'm an athlete, I'm fit,
I'm young, and he said, it just happens.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Did you have a family history.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Of family history? Really really.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Had it gone metastatic at the time? It was detected.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So after the knoscopy, they send you for a CT
scan immediately and then for a PET scan to see
where all it is. And I lit up like a
Christmas tree on the pet scan. It was all over
my body, so it had gone from my rectum to
my lungs, liver, and lymph nodes twenty seven places across
my body. And at that the result of the PET
(04:02):
scan came back on my forty fourth birthday, and that
puts you at stage four immediately, so I was stunned.
I had two sons, eight and ten. My eight year
old is severely disabled with special needs, and I couldn't
imagine them growing up growing up without their mother, and
so I pledged to beat it. And so they were
(04:26):
at stage four. You start chemotherapy. So I started chemotherapy
right away, and I endured fifty five chemotherapies radiation surgeries
which was supposed to be just laparoscopic. That went a
little bit awry, and I actually had internal bleeding and
went into cardiac arrest and almost died there and came
(04:49):
back and as you said, I'm now cancer free.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So I went through it, John, I mean, it's the
best ending possible great ending. But the story is just
for remarkable. You were young, yes, in very good shape.
You were an athlete, and you eat very fairly well
and these are these are you know, there's there's no
specific cause for cancer, but there are you know, underlying,
(05:16):
you know, things that will you know that you know,
like a family history or something like that, and none
of that. No, So when they told you you have
not only had cancer, but it's stage four.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, I thought I was going to die. The first
first thought through my head is I am going to die.
And you go through that for about a week. Your
head's in that very dark place. And like I said,
it was looking at my kids that I said, I
have to beat this. These kids need me, they need
their mom. And you know, I prayed. I'm a person
(05:53):
of faith, so I grew up Catholic, and I prayed
every day every day at chemo. But I took really
good care of myself too, so I kept moving. I
did change my diet. I gave up dairy and sugar
and did all the things that they tell you to do,
eat high protein. And I really think that those things
made a difference in my survival and my recovery.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Now that treatment is not an easy process.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
No, Chemotherapy is tough, and I was in the best
shape of my life. I mean I was young, fit
and healthy, and chemo is tough. But you get into
a rhythm and you learn to head off the side effects.
And you know, I can't say enough good things about
my nurses, my oncologists. I had a whole big support system,
my husband, my kids, my parents. Takes a village and
(06:42):
we beat it. We beat it into the ground.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You had kids and family that was helping you out.
But at one point did you feel like you were alone?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I thought I was alone when I would walk around
the treatment center and I felt like the youngest person there.
You know. I would walk around and I would look
in the in the pods for somebody who was as
old as me. And that's when I felt alone because
I felt like so young And why is this happening
to me when I'm you know, young and healthy. What
(07:14):
did I do wrong in my life?
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Looking back, because you were young and you were in
good shape, and that that was an advantage and that
it actually came the outcome of being cancer free probably
was because of that. You took care of your body.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
That's what I say that. That's you know. I've since
gone into advocacy work and become an advocate for others,
you know, affected by cancer and joining the American Cancer
Society Board. And what I tell everybody is take care
of yourself because you never know what's waiting around the corner.
And Johnny, if I hadn't been in such good shape
going into it, I would not have come out of it.
(07:49):
So you just you just never know.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Your outcome is very rare though.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'm the luckiest of the unlucky. That's for darnshore.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I think too. You know, we tell people starting at
age forty five of average health. You know, that's when
you start to think about colorectal screening. What I think
a good moral or a good lesson to Stacy from
Stacy is also know your body. I don't care what
age you are. I don't care if you're twenty, if
(08:18):
you're eighteen, whatever. If something isn't right, if something's happening
that shouldn't be happening, get to your doctor and get checked.
Because the sooner it's detected, the better the chances of
a better outcome.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, Like I told you, my father passed away
with colon cancer, and we promised that. He made all
his kids promise him that we would get colonoscopies. That's
why I was never afraid to do it, because it
was to honor him. But I've met and talked to
so many people who are afraid of colonoscopies or the
(08:55):
prep and they think it's so difficult. Well, the colonoscopy
maybe a little difficult, but compared to what you went through,
it's it's there's no comparison, Johnny.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
This is what I tell people all the time that
you know, people, you know what I want people to know.
It is not a big deal at all. And I
will tell you that that prep pails in comparison to
fifty five chemotherapies, surgery, and radiation. That prep is nothing.
And you know, you'll lose five pounds, it's the best
sleep you'll ever have, you know. And and it's pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
It's pretty very quick in and out.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Both yeah, yeah, And that's you know, And back to
Dan's point is that you know, listen to your body,
pay attention to your body. And I know that you know,
when we don't be afraid to say the word poop,
you know, look at your poop, your poop in your blood,
tell your whole life story, you know, and be in
touch with your body, and don't dismiss anything. Probably to
Dan's point, if I hadn't have waited, I would have
(09:54):
caught it sooner. But I put it off. I was busy.
I was this. I was that. When you see any
of those warning signals, go talk to your doctor.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Let's talk about some of the warning signals. A blood
in the stool is one, Maybe constipation or maybe diarrhea,
something along those lines. What else can you add? What
are some of the symptoms you had?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Yeah, definitely abdominal pain, fatigue, just knowing something's not right
and just saying to my husband, I feel like crap,
I feel awful, you know, I just don't feel right.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Did you have any weight loss at all?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I did have weight loss, but I thought it was
good because I thought it was because I was running
and taking care of myself. But ultimately the weight loss
was because of the cancer.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And you said fatigue and cramping and things.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Like that, constipation, bloating, you know, some nausea, even some dizziness,
anything like that. And you know, like you said, Johnny,
it really is kind of insidious, you know, and you
just dismiss these things again because I think that there's
some stigma around them, right, we don't want to talk
(11:06):
about it. But it's normal, it's natural, it's healthy, and
give I go to schools and I do talk to
young kids, and I tell them the same thing, that
your body is beautiful. Every part of your body is beautiful,
and don't be worried about talking about them to an
adult or in our case, to a doctor.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I think too. The other fear of this is we're
talking about right now saying you know symptoms, Remember too,
this can be starting without symptoms. So once you get
of those ages recommended ages to get screenings, don't skip
a screening because you say, I feel great, right. The
idea is you get screened because if something is starting,
(11:47):
it's caught, you know, early before the symptoms uppear. But
by all means, when you're under those ages, or even
between screenings, if something's not right, go to the doctor.
Talk to your doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
So what is the most significant change you noticed in
yourself after cancer?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Yeah, I've worked in healthcare twenty five almost thirty years now,
and I think it was. You know, we don't know
what we don't know. And even somebody like me with
two master's degrees. My husband works in healthcare. You know,
we didn't know what we didn't know. And I but
(12:30):
you knew a lot, Yeah, yeah, but I knew enough
to stand up for myself. And that's what I tell
everyone is is to self advocate and to go to
your doctor and ask. As I said, I work in advocacy,
and I'm constantly surprised. I mean, colorectal cancer is on
(12:53):
the rise in young people, and we don't know why
it's come to be the one of the leading cause
of death in people under fifty. And again we can
point to diet, we can talk about processed foods and
things like that, but the doctors still don't know why.
So I'm surprised to hear how many of my friends.
(13:13):
As we know, the screening age does start at forty five.
Now they lowered it from fifty because of this incidence
rising in young people. And I can't get over how
many people are still dismissed, Oh, it's nothing, Oh it's
probably this. Oh it's probably that. No, it's not probably anything.
Let's get it checked. And as Dan said, let's talk
(13:34):
to our doctor about a screening method that's good for us.
The gold standard is colonoscopy, but there's other ways to
be screened and there are options, and you should go
talk to your doctor about your screening options.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Now there's no exact cause of color recal cancer, but
there are factors including age and smoking, obesity, family history. Yeah, yep,
So you know, I think it's important that we talk about,
you know, those kind of factors, you being young, healthy,
(14:09):
and let's face it, you when you had your first colonoscopy,
it went to the worst case scenario, stage four. So
in that process there was there little red flags that
you missed.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Just the fact that I put it off so long,
and just what Dan and I are telling everybody out there,
listening to your body, and I'm guilty of not doing
that right. So when you asked what I learned after cancer,
I learned to listen to my body and pay attention
and to be proactive and to get ahead of it.
You know, Like Dan said, I think that you know,
(14:44):
fear is one of the big barriers to people. You know,
We've done surveys through American Cancer Society asking why people
don't want to go for a klenoscopy and a lot
of the times it's the fear of finding out that
something's wrong. You know. People don't want to find out
bad news. They don't want to I know that something wrong,
something's wrong. But to Dan's point, the earlier that you
can find out, the less invasive, there are ways to
(15:07):
do something about it, you know. And certainly once you
if you are if you find a pall up and
you remove it, even at like a stage one colon cancer,
your odds of recovering are like eighty ninety percent. So
that's why you want to get screen And if you
do have something you catch in that earlier stage, you
cure your treatment and cure rates are so much higher. Certainly,
(15:29):
like my case was an outlier. My case was extreme,
you know, and we're still fortunate enough to beat it.
But it's really that early detection and that screening that's
so important that we want everybody to know.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well, you also serve as an example a role model
for a lot of people who have not only had
colo recal cancer, but cancer itself. It's a scary word,
and you know, the only thing the best thing you
can hope provide is hope, and you provide that.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Yeah, I talked to so many people. I talk to
people around the world about cancer and about correctal cancer.
People have found me on the internet and you know,
reach out to me for hope and for a plan,
how to speak to their doctor, how to do this.
And you know, I tell people the same thing. I
(16:24):
give them my playbook, right, I give them my playbook,
and I say, you know, you gotta, you know, keep
looking forward, keep looking ahead, do everything you can, as
you said, Johnny, to minimize your risk factors and and
take good care of yourself going through it. But American
Cancer Society provides so many resources for those in need.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I was just going to ask you about Dan, Can
you talk about some of the advocacy and some of
the things that are provided on your website.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Well, what I'd love to talk about first is the
newest resource we have. This was just unveiled the other
week and it's called Cancer Risk three sixty Cancer Risk
three three sixty, and it's an assessment tool. So we
all know, you know, forty percent of cancers that are
diagnosed can be traced back to modifiable things, you know, diets, us, smoking,
(17:15):
exercising and things like that. There's also environmental factors your
family history. There's all these things that go in to
making you more at risk and less at risk for
developing cancer. What Cancer Risk three sixty is. It's a
tool on our website cancer dot org that you go in.
It takes about five minutes. You answer these questions and
(17:37):
it'll come back with a suggestions for you. The suggestions
might be you need to eat more fiber, or you're
not exercising enough, or you're overdue for your colonoscopy or whatever.
But it puts you sort of in a mindset to
think about it a little more. But they do ask
you about, you know, your family history of cancer, because
(17:57):
that is important, you know, and hopefully people, hopefully families
talk about it. You know, there was a time and
you know, we're all old enough to remember that where
you know, the sea word cancer wasn't discussed. And we
can't not do that because we do need to know
who in our family has had it, you know, and
how far removed from us is it, because that plays
a role in our risk.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
When did you start getting involved with the American Cancer Society.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
So I was diagnosed in twenty fourteen. It took me
about five years to really get through it. All five years.
The two big markers when you have stage four cancer
are three years and five years. So once I got
through that in twenty nineteen, then of course COVID hit.
So I've been involved for two years now, two years
now as a board member, and it's such a rewarding
(18:47):
way to give back, and especially being a survivor and
sitting on that board and speaking with people who are affected,
it makes the mission so meaningful. Having gone through it myself,
and that's the thing. People do want to hear from
people who have gone through it. They want to know
(19:08):
you know what you did, defeated and it's a certain
level of empathy and you're in the club that nobody
wants to be in. But being involved with American Cancer
Society is so personally important to me because, like I said,
I feel like I feel like it's my mission. I
feel like it's what I was meant to do, and
(19:28):
when I hear about the great work. One of my
favorite events that I'm involved with is Coaches Versus Cancer,
and that's every year in the fall and all the
coaches from the local college teams come out and the
stories are amazing. I had the honor of being the
mission speaker a few years ago and sharing my story,
(19:49):
and that's really kind of started me on Thetory trajectory
with American Cancer Society and I never looked back. They
do so many wonderful things and support people with cancer.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So going through your journey, but being in a what
do you? What is your regular nine to five? What
do you? What do you? What do you do? Well?
Speaker 3 (20:09):
I worked all through my treatment. I was head of
training and development for a drug company when I was
in treatment, and I still remember I I when you
when you go through colorectal cancer, you wear with stage four,
you have a pump of medicine going into your port.
And I remember holding a training webinar with three like
a water, an iced tea, a hot tea, and a
(20:31):
coffee all around me because my voice would go out.
But working through treatment was super important to me because
I didn't want to lose my identity. I didn't want
to just be a cancer patient. I still wanted to
be Stacy. I still wanted to be that vice president
of that drug company. I still wanted to be my
son's volleyball coach. I still wanted to be a fun
aunt and a great friend, and those things were, like
(20:54):
I said, super important to me and part of my recovery.
So now I am Chief patient officer of a company
named par Excel, and we run clinical trials for large
pharmaceutical and biotech companies. And again, my work is my life.
My life is my work because in overseeing these clinical trials,
(21:15):
I look out for the needs of patients and caregivers
going through the trials. So I've just continued on my journey.
It's all part of my journey, but it's certainly my
dream job.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
And I was born. This is a bit of a
rhetorical question, but you use a lot of what you've
went through with what you do.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It makes her better at what she does.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I you know, I absolutely, I kind of said mention,
you are a miracle. You are a miracle, but you
are also kind of a superwoman, aren't you. Wonder wol mom. Yeah,
it's funny.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Growing up, I always loved Wonder Woman. Little did I
know how much I would identify with her.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Wonder Woman has nothing on you. Geez.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well that's very kind. But honestly, if I can, if
you know, to have gone through what I've gone through,
and I can make it easier or better for those
coming after me, then I'll know it was all worth it.
And I do. We do an American Cancer Society, one
person at a time.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
We're talking with Stacy Hurt, who is not only a
board member an American Cancer Society but a colon cancer survivor,
and Dan Toe and the marketing and communications with American
Cancer Society. Obviously, Marchie is called a rectal cancer Awareness Month.
So what is it that the American Cancer Society wants
us to be aware of with col a rectal cancer?
(22:36):
What is the message that you want people to know?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It really is to get screened, to know your body,
to talk to your doctor, don't be afraid, don't be scared,
to find out if everything's okay or if everything's not okay. Really,
it's that message, and not just with coal or rectal cancer,
but with breast cancer, with prostate cancer, with all those
ones that we can screen for. Talk to your doctor
(22:59):
and get screened and do that and be your advocate.
Be an advocate if you have a doctor. There's a
friend of mine he was diagnosed at age twenty four
with cool erectal cancer and when he first went to
the doctor, the doctor sent him home and says, you
know what, it's just you your stress to work. It's nothing.
You're too young. And finally he started having more severe symptoms.
(23:21):
He went to a different doctor and he says, I
need to be tested. Something's wrong. And he was already
Stage four in his case as well. He survived, He
made it through it. But sometimes, you know, don't let
somebody push you off or brush you off if you
don't think you're getting the right care. Keep advocating for yourself,
but get screened.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
One thing I love about Dan is that you know,
with American Cancer Society, there's always something to talk about.
So I know that there's going to be a fundraiser. Oh,
it's always fundraiser, all right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So we got fundraisers.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, Relay for Life has got to be ramping up right.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Really for Life is ramping up right now, later on
this year making strides again express cancer. It's coaches versus cancer.
Later this year. We want you to get involved. We
want you to, you know, come on out. Relay for
Life is it's a celebration. It's a celebration of those
who have made it through and they've they've come out
(24:16):
the other side of their cancer journey. It is a
It is a time to celebrate those who are going
through the journey to be there to support them, and
it's also a time to honor those who did not.
And if you want to get involved with Relay for Life,
go to Relay for Life dot org. You put in
your zip code and it'll tell you what events are
in your local area. There's a ton of them in
(24:39):
the Pittsburgh area that will be happening between now and
like sort of like the end of summer.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
You also mentioned just a few minutes ago Cancer Risk
three P sixty. For people who aren't familiar with that,
because this is something this is a brand new initiative,
kind of tell us again what exactly that is.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Sure, there's many factors that can help defind if you
have a greater or lesser risk for developing cancer. A
lot of them are modifiable changes, you know, quitting smoking,
eating better, exercising, you know, less alcohol, things like that.
Family history plays into an environmental What cancer Risk three
(25:17):
sixty does. It's an assessment tool. It's about five minutes
long online. You go in, you answer questions, and then
it'll come back with recommendations for you. It might be
you know, eat more, fiber. It might be exercise more.
I'll tell you. When I took it myself, it came
back that I wasn't eating enough fiber on the exercise.
(25:38):
I'm blowing it away. I exercise a lot, but it
said I need to eat more fiber. And I was like, Okay, yeah,
you know, I can see that. So you need to
maybe do something like that to help in your define
for yourself what you should be doing, and to get
out there and maybe to overcome some of the fear
(25:58):
of it too, or to reinforce what you might know
but you're afraid to admit, you know, Oh yeah, I
didn't get my colonoscopy yet. Oh yeah, I need to
have my you know p s H check for prostate
or what I didn't do my mimography, you know, something
like that. So canceer risk three sixty is definitely a
new tool in.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
The toolbox, all right, And where do you find that?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
On cancer dot org.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Cancer dot org, we talked about Relay for Life, We
talked about cancer risk three sixty. How about road to
Recovery in the Hope Lodgis tell us a little more
about those.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Sure if you are if you are going through the
cancer journey right now, and you're having trouble getting to
and from those appointments road to recovery. What we do
is we match volunteer drivers with patients to help take
you to the hospital and to your treatments. If you
are a person looking for a really wonderful way to volunteer,
(26:52):
we always need drivers for the program. So you know,
if you can give a couple hours here and there,
we want you come join us. If you go to
cancer dot org, you can find out information whether you
need a ride or whether you'd like to volunteer Hope Lodge.
I think Hope Lodge is probably the biggest secret that
(27:13):
American Cancer Society has. We have over thirty Hope Lodges
in the country. They're all in areas that have big
cancer centers. These lodges are places where you and your
caregiver can stay free of charge if your care takes
you to another city. Sometimes you know, you may be
in Pittsburgh and we have some wonderful, wonderful hospital systems
(27:36):
here right But depending on the type of cancer you
have your treatment, your best option might not be here.
It might be in Cleveland or in Baltimore and New
York City. Well, if you go there, you could stay
at a Hope Lodge.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
All Right, we have about a minute left. I'm going
to give our wonder woman, our miracle, the last word.
All right, Stacy, you gave us such an inspirational story
of what you went through, and I'm sorry that you
had to go through that, but I appreciate the fact
that you are here to tell us and give us
that story and that ray of hope. So what is
(28:13):
it you want to tell people about your journey and
what you've learned.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
I want people to know that there is a lot
that is within their control against cancer. And Dan talked
about taking the cancer risk assessment, and we talked about
that fear of cancer, and that fear is real. But
when you take that assessment and you see all of
the things that you can do that are within your
(28:39):
power to fight back against cancer, it's really powerful and amazing.
And so I just want people to know that to
take charge of their health and to talk to their doctor,
get screened if you think of it. In March, wear
blue blue is our awareness color. So wear blue for
Stacy and all of us affected by colon cancer and
(28:59):
all those that we have lost, but most of all,
I want you to take charge of your health. I
want you to talk to your doctor about getting screened
for colrectal cancer.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Stacey, thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for
being the inspiration. Thank you for being.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Here, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
If you want more information, go to cancer dot org.
There's a twenty four to seven National Cancer Information Center
hotline one eight hundred two two seven twenty three forty five.
Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, x YouTube, and at ACS Pennsylvania.
Dan and Stacy, thank you so much for your for
your time. Thank you so much, Johnny, I got to
(29:32):
say thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
You do so much for the nonprofit community in this
city and it's greatly appreciated.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
As always, if you have any comments, concerns, or an
idea for our future program, please email us from this
radio station's website. I'm Johnny Heartwell. Thank you so much
for listening.
And welcome in. This is a public affairs program shedding
the light on the interest, issues, and concerns of the
greater Pittsburgh AIA. Good morning. My name is Johnny Heart
Will your host, and March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
This month is dedicated to raising awareness about colorectal cancer,
promoting early detection, and encouraging screening to prevent the disease
and to help us out. We have a couple of
(00:27):
friends here, an old friend, Dan Tobin. Haven't seen you
in quite some time, but it's always good to see you. He,
of course, is from the American Cancer Society, is the
director of Marketing and Communication. Dan. How are you, sir?
I'm doing well.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
It's great to be here. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Introduce your special friend here because she's a rock star, isn't.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
She is definitely a rock star with me today. She's
not only a board member with the American Cancer Society
here in the Pittsburgh area, she's also a colon cancer survivor.
And it's Stacy Hurt. I must forgot to see her.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Name, Stacy.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Welcome, Thanks Johnny, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
You have quite a story, don't you.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
I do, I do, and it wasn't anything I ever expected,
that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Yeah, So let me start describing you had stage four
colon cancer, correct, and that from what I've read, you
have about a thirteen percent chance of surviving five years. Correct,
And it's been how long for you?
Speaker 3 (01:28):
I just hit ten years in twenty twenty four, So
I always applauded that too. I love that never gets old.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
And for all intentsive purposes, your cancer free. You're You're
like a walking, talking miracle.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
I am, I am, and I wake up grateful for
the miracle of my life every day, every single day.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Now. My father passed away of colon cancer back in
two thousand and eight. He survived five years, and that
was I was grateful to have that man. He was
metastatic as well. But let start from the beginning. When
when you were first diagnosed, because colon cancer sometimes doesn't
the symptoms, aren't you don't feel it right away?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Right?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So did you have some sort of symptoms?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
I start with I did. I did. I had pain,
I had abdominal pain, I had blood in my stole, fatigue, constipation.
But I was the healthiest person you would have known
at age forty three. I was an athlete. I went
to Norway High School, played basketball and volleyball. Fit. I
(02:33):
was out running the day before my colonoscopy, and so
when I had these symptoms, I just thought, you know,
they're annoying. Maybe it's hemorrhoids, whatever it is. And the
pain got too much to bear. So my husband actually
urged me, said go see your doctor. So I went
to see her and she said, you know what, You're
really healthy, but let's order a colonoscopy just to be sure.
(02:55):
And so I went for the colonoscopy and it revealed
the worst case scenario, and I remember it to this day.
When the GI woke me up and he said, I
had to stop the knoscopy because you have a tumor
in your rectum so big I couldn't get the scope
around it, so they had to stop the procedure. Woke
(03:16):
me up and he said the words nobody wants to
hear you have cancer. And I said, how does that
even happen. I'm a non smoker, I'm an athlete, I'm fit,
I'm young, and he said, it just happens.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Did you have a family history.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Of family history? Really really.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Had it gone metastatic at the time? It was detected.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
So after the knoscopy, they send you for a CT
scan immediately and then for a PET scan to see
where all it is. And I lit up like a
Christmas tree on the pet scan. It was all over
my body, so it had gone from my rectum to
my lungs, liver, and lymph nodes twenty seven places across
my body. And at that the result of the PET
(04:02):
scan came back on my forty fourth birthday, and that
puts you at stage four immediately, so I was stunned.
I had two sons, eight and ten. My eight year
old is severely disabled with special needs, and I couldn't
imagine them growing up growing up without their mother, and
so I pledged to beat it. And so they were
(04:26):
at stage four. You start chemotherapy. So I started chemotherapy
right away, and I endured fifty five chemotherapies radiation surgeries
which was supposed to be just laparoscopic. That went a
little bit awry, and I actually had internal bleeding and
went into cardiac arrest and almost died there and came
(04:49):
back and as you said, I'm now cancer free.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
So I went through it, John, I mean, it's the
best ending possible great ending. But the story is just
for remarkable. You were young, yes, in very good shape.
You were an athlete, and you eat very fairly well
and these are these are you know, there's there's no
specific cause for cancer, but there are you know, underlying,
(05:16):
you know, things that will you know that you know,
like a family history or something like that, and none
of that. No, So when they told you you have
not only had cancer, but it's stage four.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, I thought I was going to die. The first
first thought through my head is I am going to die.
And you go through that for about a week. Your
head's in that very dark place. And like I said,
it was looking at my kids that I said, I
have to beat this. These kids need me, they need
their mom. And you know, I prayed. I'm a person
(05:53):
of faith, so I grew up Catholic, and I prayed
every day every day at chemo. But I took really
good care of myself too, so I kept moving. I
did change my diet. I gave up dairy and sugar
and did all the things that they tell you to do,
eat high protein. And I really think that those things
made a difference in my survival and my recovery.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Now that treatment is not an easy process.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
No, Chemotherapy is tough, and I was in the best
shape of my life. I mean I was young, fit
and healthy, and chemo is tough. But you get into
a rhythm and you learn to head off the side effects.
And you know, I can't say enough good things about
my nurses, my oncologists. I had a whole big support system,
my husband, my kids, my parents. Takes a village and
(06:42):
we beat it. We beat it into the ground.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You had kids and family that was helping you out.
But at one point did you feel like you were alone?
Speaker 3 (06:52):
I thought I was alone when I would walk around
the treatment center and I felt like the youngest person there.
You know. I would walk around and I would look
in the in the pods for somebody who was as
old as me. And that's when I felt alone because
I felt like so young And why is this happening
to me when I'm you know, young and healthy. What
(07:14):
did I do wrong in my life?
Speaker 1 (07:15):
Looking back, because you were young and you were in
good shape, and that that was an advantage and that
it actually came the outcome of being cancer free probably
was because of that. You took care of your body.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
That's what I say that. That's you know. I've since
gone into advocacy work and become an advocate for others,
you know, affected by cancer and joining the American Cancer
Society Board. And what I tell everybody is take care
of yourself because you never know what's waiting around the corner.
And Johnny, if I hadn't been in such good shape
going into it, I would not have come out of it.
(07:49):
So you just you just never know.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Your outcome is very rare though.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'm the luckiest of the unlucky. That's for darnshore.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I think too. You know, we tell people starting at
age forty five of average health. You know, that's when
you start to think about colorectal screening. What I think
a good moral or a good lesson to Stacy from
Stacy is also know your body. I don't care what
age you are. I don't care if you're twenty, if
(08:18):
you're eighteen, whatever. If something isn't right, if something's happening
that shouldn't be happening, get to your doctor and get checked.
Because the sooner it's detected, the better the chances of
a better outcome.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
You know, Like I told you, my father passed away
with colon cancer, and we promised that. He made all
his kids promise him that we would get colonoscopies. That's
why I was never afraid to do it, because it
was to honor him. But I've met and talked to
so many people who are afraid of colonoscopies or the
(08:55):
prep and they think it's so difficult. Well, the colonoscopy
maybe a little difficult, but compared to what you went through,
it's it's there's no comparison, Johnny.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
This is what I tell people all the time that
you know, people, you know what I want people to know.
It is not a big deal at all. And I
will tell you that that prep pails in comparison to
fifty five chemotherapies, surgery, and radiation. That prep is nothing.
And you know, you'll lose five pounds, it's the best
sleep you'll ever have, you know. And and it's pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
It's pretty very quick in and out.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Both yeah, yeah, And that's you know, And back to
Dan's point is that you know, listen to your body,
pay attention to your body. And I know that you know,
when we don't be afraid to say the word poop,
you know, look at your poop, your poop in your blood,
tell your whole life story, you know, and be in
touch with your body, and don't dismiss anything. Probably to
Dan's point, if I hadn't have waited, I would have
(09:54):
caught it sooner. But I put it off. I was busy.
I was this. I was that. When you see any
of those warning signals, go talk to your doctor.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Let's talk about some of the warning signals. A blood
in the stool is one, Maybe constipation or maybe diarrhea,
something along those lines. What else can you add? What
are some of the symptoms you had?
Speaker 3 (10:16):
Yeah, definitely abdominal pain, fatigue, just knowing something's not right
and just saying to my husband, I feel like crap,
I feel awful, you know, I just don't feel right.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Did you have any weight loss at all?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
I did have weight loss, but I thought it was
good because I thought it was because I was running
and taking care of myself. But ultimately the weight loss
was because of the cancer.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
And you said fatigue and cramping and things.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Like that, constipation, bloating, you know, some nausea, even some dizziness,
anything like that. And you know, like you said, Johnny,
it really is kind of insidious, you know, and you
just dismiss these things again because I think that there's
some stigma around them, right, we don't want to talk
(11:06):
about it. But it's normal, it's natural, it's healthy, and
give I go to schools and I do talk to
young kids, and I tell them the same thing, that
your body is beautiful. Every part of your body is beautiful,
and don't be worried about talking about them to an
adult or in our case, to a doctor.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I think too. The other fear of this is we're
talking about right now saying you know symptoms, Remember too,
this can be starting without symptoms. So once you get
of those ages recommended ages to get screenings, don't skip
a screening because you say, I feel great, right. The
idea is you get screened because if something is starting,
(11:47):
it's caught, you know, early before the symptoms uppear. But
by all means, when you're under those ages, or even
between screenings, if something's not right, go to the doctor.
Talk to your doctor.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
So what is the most significant change you noticed in
yourself after cancer?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Yeah, I've worked in healthcare twenty five almost thirty years now,
and I think it was. You know, we don't know
what we don't know. And even somebody like me with
two master's degrees. My husband works in healthcare. You know,
we didn't know what we didn't know. And I but
(12:30):
you knew a lot, Yeah, yeah, but I knew enough
to stand up for myself. And that's what I tell
everyone is is to self advocate and to go to
your doctor and ask. As I said, I work in advocacy,
and I'm constantly surprised. I mean, colorectal cancer is on
(12:53):
the rise in young people, and we don't know why
it's come to be the one of the leading cause
of death in people under fifty. And again we can
point to diet, we can talk about processed foods and
things like that, but the doctors still don't know why.
So I'm surprised to hear how many of my friends.
(13:13):
As we know, the screening age does start at forty five.
Now they lowered it from fifty because of this incidence
rising in young people. And I can't get over how
many people are still dismissed, Oh, it's nothing, Oh it's
probably this. Oh it's probably that. No, it's not probably anything.
Let's get it checked. And as Dan said, let's talk
(13:34):
to our doctor about a screening method that's good for us.
The gold standard is colonoscopy, but there's other ways to
be screened and there are options, and you should go
talk to your doctor about your screening options.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Now there's no exact cause of color recal cancer, but
there are factors including age and smoking, obesity, family history. Yeah, yep,
So you know, I think it's important that we talk about,
you know, those kind of factors, you being young, healthy,
(14:09):
and let's face it, you when you had your first colonoscopy,
it went to the worst case scenario, stage four. So
in that process there was there little red flags that
you missed.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
Just the fact that I put it off so long,
and just what Dan and I are telling everybody out there,
listening to your body, and I'm guilty of not doing
that right. So when you asked what I learned after cancer,
I learned to listen to my body and pay attention
and to be proactive and to get ahead of it.
You know, Like Dan said, I think that you know,
(14:44):
fear is one of the big barriers to people. You know,
We've done surveys through American Cancer Society asking why people
don't want to go for a klenoscopy and a lot
of the times it's the fear of finding out that
something's wrong. You know. People don't want to find out
bad news. They don't want to I know that something wrong,
something's wrong. But to Dan's point, the earlier that you
can find out, the less invasive, there are ways to
(15:07):
do something about it, you know. And certainly once you
if you are if you find a pall up and
you remove it, even at like a stage one colon cancer,
your odds of recovering are like eighty ninety percent. So
that's why you want to get screen And if you
do have something you catch in that earlier stage, you
cure your treatment and cure rates are so much higher. Certainly,
(15:29):
like my case was an outlier. My case was extreme,
you know, and we're still fortunate enough to beat it.
But it's really that early detection and that screening that's
so important that we want everybody to know.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Well, you also serve as an example a role model
for a lot of people who have not only had
colo recal cancer, but cancer itself. It's a scary word,
and you know, the only thing the best thing you
can hope provide is hope, and you provide that.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
Yeah, I talked to so many people. I talk to
people around the world about cancer and about correctal cancer.
People have found me on the internet and you know,
reach out to me for hope and for a plan,
how to speak to their doctor, how to do this.
And you know, I tell people the same thing. I
(16:24):
give them my playbook, right, I give them my playbook,
and I say, you know, you gotta, you know, keep
looking forward, keep looking ahead, do everything you can, as
you said, Johnny, to minimize your risk factors and and
take good care of yourself going through it. But American
Cancer Society provides so many resources for those in need.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
I was just going to ask you about Dan, Can
you talk about some of the advocacy and some of
the things that are provided on your website.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Well, what I'd love to talk about first is the
newest resource we have. This was just unveiled the other
week and it's called Cancer Risk three sixty Cancer Risk
three three sixty, and it's an assessment tool. So we
all know, you know, forty percent of cancers that are
diagnosed can be traced back to modifiable things, you know, diets, us, smoking,
(17:15):
exercising and things like that. There's also environmental factors your
family history. There's all these things that go in to
making you more at risk and less at risk for
developing cancer. What Cancer Risk three sixty is. It's a
tool on our website cancer dot org that you go in.
It takes about five minutes. You answer these questions and
(17:37):
it'll come back with a suggestions for you. The suggestions
might be you need to eat more fiber, or you're
not exercising enough, or you're overdue for your colonoscopy or whatever.
But it puts you sort of in a mindset to
think about it a little more. But they do ask
you about, you know, your family history of cancer, because
(17:57):
that is important, you know, and hopefully people, hopefully families
talk about it. You know, there was a time and
you know, we're all old enough to remember that where
you know, the sea word cancer wasn't discussed. And we
can't not do that because we do need to know
who in our family has had it, you know, and
how far removed from us is it, because that plays
a role in our risk.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
When did you start getting involved with the American Cancer Society.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
So I was diagnosed in twenty fourteen. It took me
about five years to really get through it. All five years.
The two big markers when you have stage four cancer
are three years and five years. So once I got
through that in twenty nineteen, then of course COVID hit.
So I've been involved for two years now, two years
now as a board member, and it's such a rewarding
(18:47):
way to give back, and especially being a survivor and
sitting on that board and speaking with people who are affected,
it makes the mission so meaningful. Having gone through it myself,
and that's the thing. People do want to hear from
people who have gone through it. They want to know
(19:08):
you know what you did, defeated and it's a certain
level of empathy and you're in the club that nobody
wants to be in. But being involved with American Cancer
Society is so personally important to me because, like I said,
I feel like I feel like it's my mission. I
feel like it's what I was meant to do, and
(19:28):
when I hear about the great work. One of my
favorite events that I'm involved with is Coaches Versus Cancer,
and that's every year in the fall and all the
coaches from the local college teams come out and the
stories are amazing. I had the honor of being the
mission speaker a few years ago and sharing my story,
(19:49):
and that's really kind of started me on Thetory trajectory
with American Cancer Society and I never looked back. They
do so many wonderful things and support people with cancer.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
So going through your journey, but being in a what
do you? What is your regular nine to five? What
do you? What do you? What do you do? Well?
Speaker 3 (20:09):
I worked all through my treatment. I was head of
training and development for a drug company when I was
in treatment, and I still remember I I when you
when you go through colorectal cancer, you wear with stage four,
you have a pump of medicine going into your port.
And I remember holding a training webinar with three like
a water, an iced tea, a hot tea, and a
(20:31):
coffee all around me because my voice would go out.
But working through treatment was super important to me because
I didn't want to lose my identity. I didn't want
to just be a cancer patient. I still wanted to
be Stacy. I still wanted to be that vice president
of that drug company. I still wanted to be my
son's volleyball coach. I still wanted to be a fun
aunt and a great friend, and those things were, like
(20:54):
I said, super important to me and part of my recovery.
So now I am Chief patient officer of a company
named par Excel, and we run clinical trials for large
pharmaceutical and biotech companies. And again, my work is my life.
My life is my work because in overseeing these clinical trials,
(21:15):
I look out for the needs of patients and caregivers
going through the trials. So I've just continued on my journey.
It's all part of my journey, but it's certainly my
dream job.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
And I was born. This is a bit of a
rhetorical question, but you use a lot of what you've
went through with what you do.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It makes her better at what she does.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
I you know, I absolutely, I kind of said mention,
you are a miracle. You are a miracle, but you
are also kind of a superwoman, aren't you. Wonder wol mom. Yeah,
it's funny.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Growing up, I always loved Wonder Woman. Little did I
know how much I would identify with her.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Wonder Woman has nothing on you. Geez.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Well that's very kind. But honestly, if I can, if
you know, to have gone through what I've gone through,
and I can make it easier or better for those
coming after me, then I'll know it was all worth it.
And I do. We do an American Cancer Society, one
person at a time.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
We're talking with Stacy Hurt, who is not only a
board member an American Cancer Society but a colon cancer survivor,
and Dan Toe and the marketing and communications with American
Cancer Society. Obviously, Marchie is called a rectal cancer Awareness Month.
So what is it that the American Cancer Society wants
us to be aware of with col a rectal cancer?
(22:36):
What is the message that you want people to know?
Speaker 2 (22:38):
It really is to get screened, to know your body,
to talk to your doctor, don't be afraid, don't be scared,
to find out if everything's okay or if everything's not okay. Really,
it's that message, and not just with coal or rectal cancer,
but with breast cancer, with prostate cancer, with all those
ones that we can screen for. Talk to your doctor
(22:59):
and get screened and do that and be your advocate.
Be an advocate if you have a doctor. There's a
friend of mine he was diagnosed at age twenty four
with cool erectal cancer and when he first went to
the doctor, the doctor sent him home and says, you
know what, it's just you your stress to work. It's nothing.
You're too young. And finally he started having more severe symptoms.
(23:21):
He went to a different doctor and he says, I
need to be tested. Something's wrong. And he was already
Stage four in his case as well. He survived, He
made it through it. But sometimes, you know, don't let
somebody push you off or brush you off if you
don't think you're getting the right care. Keep advocating for yourself,
but get screened.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
One thing I love about Dan is that you know,
with American Cancer Society, there's always something to talk about.
So I know that there's going to be a fundraiser. Oh,
it's always fundraiser, all right.
Speaker 3 (23:51):
So we got fundraisers.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Yeah, Relay for Life has got to be ramping up right.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Really for Life is ramping up right now, later on
this year making strides again express cancer. It's coaches versus cancer.
Later this year. We want you to get involved. We
want you to, you know, come on out. Relay for
Life is it's a celebration. It's a celebration of those
who have made it through and they've they've come out
(24:16):
the other side of their cancer journey. It is a
It is a time to celebrate those who are going
through the journey to be there to support them, and
it's also a time to honor those who did not.
And if you want to get involved with Relay for Life,
go to Relay for Life dot org. You put in
your zip code and it'll tell you what events are
in your local area. There's a ton of them in
(24:39):
the Pittsburgh area that will be happening between now and
like sort of like the end of summer.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
You also mentioned just a few minutes ago Cancer Risk
three P sixty. For people who aren't familiar with that,
because this is something this is a brand new initiative,
kind of tell us again what exactly that is.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Sure, there's many factors that can help defind if you
have a greater or lesser risk for developing cancer. A
lot of them are modifiable changes, you know, quitting smoking,
eating better, exercising, you know, less alcohol, things like that.
Family history plays into an environmental What cancer Risk three
(25:17):
sixty does. It's an assessment tool. It's about five minutes
long online. You go in, you answer questions, and then
it'll come back with recommendations for you. It might be
you know, eat more, fiber. It might be exercise more.
I'll tell you. When I took it myself, it came
back that I wasn't eating enough fiber on the exercise.
(25:38):
I'm blowing it away. I exercise a lot, but it
said I need to eat more fiber. And I was like, Okay, yeah,
you know, I can see that. So you need to
maybe do something like that to help in your define
for yourself what you should be doing, and to get
out there and maybe to overcome some of the fear
(25:58):
of it too, or to reinforce what you might know
but you're afraid to admit, you know, Oh yeah, I
didn't get my colonoscopy yet. Oh yeah, I need to
have my you know p s H check for prostate
or what I didn't do my mimography, you know, something
like that. So canceer risk three sixty is definitely a
new tool in.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
The toolbox, all right, And where do you find that?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
On cancer dot org.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Cancer dot org, we talked about Relay for Life, We
talked about cancer risk three sixty. How about road to
Recovery in the Hope Lodgis tell us a little more
about those.
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Sure if you are if you are going through the
cancer journey right now, and you're having trouble getting to
and from those appointments road to recovery. What we do
is we match volunteer drivers with patients to help take
you to the hospital and to your treatments. If you
are a person looking for a really wonderful way to volunteer,
(26:52):
we always need drivers for the program. So you know,
if you can give a couple hours here and there,
we want you come join us. If you go to
cancer dot org, you can find out information whether you
need a ride or whether you'd like to volunteer Hope Lodge.
I think Hope Lodge is probably the biggest secret that
(27:13):
American Cancer Society has. We have over thirty Hope Lodges
in the country. They're all in areas that have big
cancer centers. These lodges are places where you and your
caregiver can stay free of charge if your care takes
you to another city. Sometimes you know, you may be
in Pittsburgh and we have some wonderful, wonderful hospital systems
(27:36):
here right But depending on the type of cancer you
have your treatment, your best option might not be here.
It might be in Cleveland or in Baltimore and New
York City. Well, if you go there, you could stay
at a Hope Lodge.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
All Right, we have about a minute left. I'm going
to give our wonder woman, our miracle, the last word.
All right, Stacy, you gave us such an inspirational story
of what you went through, and I'm sorry that you
had to go through that, but I appreciate the fact
that you are here to tell us and give us
that story and that ray of hope. So what is
(28:13):
it you want to tell people about your journey and
what you've learned.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
I want people to know that there is a lot
that is within their control against cancer. And Dan talked
about taking the cancer risk assessment, and we talked about
that fear of cancer, and that fear is real. But
when you take that assessment and you see all of
the things that you can do that are within your
(28:39):
power to fight back against cancer, it's really powerful and amazing.
And so I just want people to know that to
take charge of their health and to talk to their doctor,
get screened if you think of it. In March, wear
blue blue is our awareness color. So wear blue for
Stacy and all of us affected by colon cancer and
(28:59):
all those that we have lost, but most of all,
I want you to take charge of your health. I
want you to talk to your doctor about getting screened
for colrectal cancer.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
Stacey, thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for
being the inspiration. Thank you for being.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Here, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (29:12):
If you want more information, go to cancer dot org.
There's a twenty four to seven National Cancer Information Center
hotline one eight hundred two two seven twenty three forty five.
Follow them on Facebook, Instagram, x YouTube, and at ACS Pennsylvania.
Dan and Stacy, thank you so much for your for
your time. Thank you so much, Johnny, I got to
(29:32):
say thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
You do so much for the nonprofit community in this
city and it's greatly appreciated.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
As always, if you have any comments, concerns, or an
idea for our future program, please email us from this
radio station's website. I'm Johnny Heartwell. Thank you so much
for listening.
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