Rory Kennedy, 36, has no family history of cancer. It is not overweight, and has always maintained a healthy lifestyle: clean diet, regular exercise, not smoking or drinking.
Then, when he was diagnosed with colon cancer in stadium 3c last September, it was a shock, to say the least.
“I don’t have a single check brand of colon cancer,” he told The Post. “Without root cause. They said something happened in your body that something mutated.”
It all started in 2022, when Kennedy experienced a week of black and trigger stools, which can be caused by anything that ranges from gastrointestinal bleeding to eat too many blueberries.
He went to an urgent clinic, where he was tolerated, it was probably “only one ulcer” or some bacteria, given some drugs and sent home.
“I tok [the drugs] And the symptoms seemed to be relieved during the next month, “he said. He continued with my life. Everything was fine.”
Advance forward until June 2024, when Kennedy saw “a single bloody stool”, one of the most prominent signs of colon cancer, and decided to see a gastroenterologist, since the special sex had intermittent stomach pains, which is another common sign.
“He immediately told me that if he had black stools and tarry at that time, he should have a colonoscopy and endoscopy immediately,” Kennedy told.
Colorectal cancer can sometimes be asymptomatic, Dr. Ir. Kiranmayi Muddasani, a staff surgeon in the department of Choloortal Colum Surgery in Mount Sinai Medical Center, told The Post that a change in boel habits or the caliber of feces, as well as rectal bleeding or weight loss, are among the most common symptoms.
“That is why a colonoscopy is the best way to detect and treat it early,” he said.
Once they performed those procedures in Kennedy, Hed heard a prayer that nobody wants to hear.
“That was when I was beaten with the brick of the news:” You have a mass in your colon, “he said.” I was surprised. I had no idea. I knew something was happening, but I thought I had just had a polyp that was bleeding or a colon injury or something. “
What followed was “quite intensive” surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, duration, which were removed 10 inches from colon, some small intestines, appendix and 45 lymph nodes. Cancer was found in eight of the 45 lymph nodes, which led to a 3C stage diagnosis in September 2024.
“There are letters involved because I suppose that every step is a little worse. Therefore, as it is not as bad as 3b, which is not as bad as 3c. 3C is the last letter for stage 3,” he said.
“So basically I am at a notch of stage 4.”
It was, to say the least, devastating.
“Have you ever burned a pizza? When you eat a hot pizza and burn the upper part of your mouth? Imagine that feeling everywhere.”
Rory Kennedy
“I would say that from the moment I learned [the diagnosis] And all the way as a month later, you are only in a terrible head space, “he said. I have a wife, I have a newborn son who has just changed one the day I damaged.”
The chemotherapy treatment began, which has physical toll tasks in your body.
“There are many side effects,” he said. “You have nausea, you can’t sleep because you are taking steroids the first days that are supposed to relieve nausea, but you are still nausea, so you are bar pills for that.”
Chemotherapy weakens the immune system, which leads to frequent diseases, which means that it cannot be close to your little child as much as you would like.
When he has tears in his eyes, they burn, and also his mouth, a less known condition known as “chemotherapy mouth.”
“Have you ever burned a pizza? When you eat a hot pizza and burn the upper part of your mouth? Imagine that feeling everywhere, in the mouth, gums and in your throat,” he said.
Even so, Kennedy believes that the most difficult part of having cancer is uncertainty.
“The mental is definitely the part of the sausage because the physical time is heals,” he said.
“It is really challenging because all the scenarios simply go through your mind. Oh, my God, I will not see my son go to the children, or not see him graduate from high school or get Mary not to be a blank God. The wife will continue without a husband.
He accredits his wife, Facebook support groups for people with cancer and their faith to overcome the darkest days.
“Sometimes, I wonder, when I had black tar [stools]I would like the doctor to have told me at that time: “Hey, I am referring to an IG.”
Rory Kennedy
“I am a Christian and I would say that it has made me a stronger Christian, it made me even more faithful,” he said.
And, through all the pain, obtaining cancer has given him a positive side: he has made him practice full attention.
“On the good side, I have been more present at the time, because I don’t know how many good moments I will have,” he said.
Currently, Kennedy is finishing chemotherapy, after which he will undergo scanning and blood tests to verify cancer. If the tests are clear, it will be in remission, but well, it will have a recurrence probability of 40-50%.
If you are free of cancer for five years, you will be ruling, but still faces a risk of 10%life.
These days, it feels much better, especially the preliminary tests they have performed, have appeared clear. But if there is something of what he regrets, he made a son of colonoscopy.
“Sometimes, I wonder, when I had black tar [stools]I would like the doctor to have told me at that time: “Hey, I am referring to an IG.”
He has decided to share his story in the hope of urging people to obtain colonoscopies, emphasizing that a colonoscopy is the only way to prevent colon cancer by eliminating precancerous polyps.
He also emphasized that, contrary to common belief, the procedure is fast, painless (under anesthesia) and easy to recover. And surely exceeds the alternative.
“I don’t want other people to go through this,” he said.
“I do not recommend cancer, it’s not really fun. I prefer to make 30 colonoscopies in a row than go through chemotherapy.”