Sharon Celebrates the Small Moments
- In a new post on Instagram, COVID-19 and colon cancer survivor Sharon Osbourne, 68, is relishing in time spent with her adorable puppies.
- Osbourne was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002, and she underwent three months of chemotherapy to treat her disease.
- Keeping a positive attitude, as Osbourne does, has been shown to help the cancer journey, our experts say.
After beating COVID-19 and colon cancer, the TV host is loving life and relishing in small joys, like playtime with her adorable dogs.
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Sharon’s Colon Cancer Journey
Osbourne was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002, and she underwent three months of chemotherapy to treat her disease. Her treatment was effective, and Osbourne is cancer-free today. Chemotherapy is one of several methods used to treat this disease. Other colon cancer treatments include radiation, surgery and immunotherapy.
Colonoscopies are used to screen for colon cancer. During the procedure, the doctor is looking for polyps, small growths in the colon which can become cancerous. Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon and surgical oncologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, explains in an earlier interview, “Polyps are a precursor to colon cancer. For a typical colon polyp to go from a polyp to a cancer takes about 10 years.”
Related: Looking for Polyps During Colonoscopy
“The usual guidelines are that we screen someone every 10 years,” says Dr. Yeo. “What happens is there’s an extra growth in your colon. And if that growth is left alone too long, the cells keep growing. And eventually, they become a little less normal, and they invade into an area they’re not supposed to.”
How Does a Colon Polyp Turn into Cancer?
Staying Positive During the Cancer Journey
We love Sharon for how upbeat and joyful she continues to be, despite her earlier health struggles. She is always posting adorable pictures of her life at home, and her adventures on TV, as well as celebrating her decades-long relationship with husband and rocker, Ozzy Osbourne.
Related: A Major Step in the Cancer Journey: Learning to Deal With Vulnerability
Keeping a positive attitude through the cancer journey has benefits, our experts say. Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai, notes in an earlier interview, “My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK.”
“Now that doesn’t mean that I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow,” says Dr. Murrell. “But I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
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