The Power of Remaining Positive
- Reality star and mom Criscilla Anderson, 41, wife of country artist Coffey Anderson, has been battling stage 4 colon cancer.
- During a casual Q + A series on her Instagram stories, Anderson shows how she handles the stigma of a late-stage cancer diagnosis when a fan shockingly asks how she is preparing her children for her death, and stands behind her faith.
- A top expert tells SurvivorNet that the main goal with Stage 4 disease is to treat the cancer and manage symptoms so it is more like a chronic illness.
The wife of country artist Coffey Andersonand mother of threehas been battling stage 4 colon cancer. During a casual Q + A series on her Instagram stories, Anderson shows how she handles the stigma of a late-stage cancer diagnosis when a follower shockingly asks how she is “preparing her children for her death.”
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There are more and more patients thriving with stage 4 cancer and it is not the death sentence as it once was perceived to be. There are more advancements today than ever before and therefore more hope for people battling the disease.
Anderson was initially diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2018, then it had advanced to stage 4 in 2019. She has been undergoing chemotherapy for the second time and reported progress in April.
"Great scan results!" she wrote on her Instagram stories on top of a photo giving a thumbs up and smiling behind her surgical mask. "All tumors shrunk to normal lymph node size."
Anderson also reported that her blood work is within the normal range. "I'm taking it in," she expressed of her big news. "My Dr. reminded me this chemo doesn't eradicate cancer but this is the best I could have asked for. My God is bigger than chemo."
The family has not halted life plans amid Anderson’s battle and their dream home they are building in Dallas is almost finished. Anderson’s inspiring battle reminds us to live in the present and not give in to the stigma of this disease. Any one of us can be gone at any time, so continuing to push forward and cherish all of life’s moments is an important lesson to all, whether you’re battling cancer or not.
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Learning About Advanced Stage Colon Cancer
The goal of advanced stage colon cancer is to reduce the amount of cancer in the body and control it.
Dr. Paul Oberstein from NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center explains this concept in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
"When someone comes in with cancer that has spread outside the colon, it's called stage 4 colon cancer or metastatic colon cancer," Dr. Oberstein says. "The primary goal of therapy, and we discuss this in great detail with patients and their families, is to manage the cancer, is to try to control the cancer, to turn it into what we call a chronic disease, so to prevent it from growing, spreading, and causing problems."
Dr. Oberstein says that options for treatment are complicated and unique to each person. There are different surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments depending on the location of the tumor and the patient's genetic testing status.
One of the most common signs of colon cancer, and the top thing to look out for, is a change in bowel habits. This ranges from constipation or diarrhea to changes in the size or shape of bowel movements. A change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, can indicate bleeding from a tumor that lies deep in the colon.
"One of the most important facts about colon cancer is that the earlier and smaller it's detected, the easier the treatment is and the more likely it is to be cured," Dr. Oberstein explains. "Because colon cancers grow in the lining of the colon, they sometimes can cause problems with digestion. So someone may have constipation or diarrhea or problems going to the bathroom. Sometimes, they'll cause pain if they're growing large. Rarely, they can grow large enough to be felt as sort of a firm growth in the abdomen, but that's uncommon."
Related: Colon Cancer Symptoms to Look Out For
Other symptoms can be harder to pinpoint, such as abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Finally, some tumors bleed a small amount over a long period of time, resulting in anemia (low red blood cell count) that is picked up on blood work.
"Imagine a wound on the surface of the skin," Dr. Oberstein says. "It can bleed a little bit and ooze blood. And if that happens, one person a person might see what's called black tarry stools. So they might see darkness in there bowel movements. And that's a sign of bleeding in the stool that's caused by the cancer."
If a person has significant bleeding, they can develop what's called anemia, which is low blood counts, and be tired or have trouble with normal activities because of those blood counts.
"We often recommend to patients that if they see a change in their bowel movements and they feel more fatigued than usual, or they have new issues, it's something to be concerned about and to be pursued with their physician."
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