Detroit Radio Hosts’ Brave Colon Cancer Battle Inspired Listeners to Get Screened: ‘He Didn’t Want Anyone Else to Go Through What He Did’

James (Jamie) Samuelsen was a local radio personality “known for his deep voice, ready laugh, and sharp but understated sense of humor” on 97.1’s morning drive show with Michael Stone. A sports junkie since birth, he spent more than 25 years devoting his career to covering sports in the Detroit, Michigan, area. But, above all else, Samuelsen was a family man. He had three children with his wife and adored them with all of his heart.

 

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“He was the dad at the dance recital, the basketball game, the flag practice, and always there for his children,” his obituary reads. “They just couldn’t get enough of his time, love and laughter.”

Samuelsen died on Aug. 1, 2020, at age 48 after a 19-month battle with colon cancer. But he did not leave this world without a lasting impact on his family and his local community – particularly with his colon cancer awareness advocacy.

“As the life clock ticked, my husband Jamie and I found we had a lot of time to wait, think and worry,” McDonald  wrote. “Time sitting in doctors’ offices waiting to be seen. Hours each week in treatment rooms. Time waiting for operations. Time in recovery rooms. Time flying around the country for second, third opinions and trials.

“In that time, we talked a lot about how Jamie wanted to raise awareness of colorectal cancer and funding for early screenings. He also wanted to advocate for young colon cancer patients like himself.”

Jill Kargman on Relationships and Cancer

Six days before he passed, Samuelsen went on the radio for the last time knowing exactly what he wanted to say.

“He had 19 months from diagnosis to that day to think about what to say, and just 10 minutes of strength to get it out,” McDonald explained. “He asked people to get a colonoscopy, to know their family history, to cherish their health.

“He didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what he did. Jamie vowed to keep fighting, which he did until he died.”

Thankfully, Samuelsen’s message has made a difference. McDonald has heard many stories of people getting colonoscopies and discovering their colon cancer because of Samuelsen. And she wants to express her sincerest gratitude to everyone who’s helped spread awareness and educate in her husband’s memory.

“Make that colonoscopy appointment, talk to your doctor, get a plan in place. Colorectal cancer is treatable when caught in the early stages,” she wrote. “I wish we had that time back, the waiting room conversations, the long chemo days. It is a painful reminder there are no guarantees. But the good memories remain – and acute awareness to be grateful for the time that we have today.

“To all the CRC [colorectal cancer] caregivers and patients… I see you, I walk with you.”

Learning About Colon Cancer

The term colorectal cancer is used to describe cancers that begin in the colon or the rectum, but some people just use the term colon cancer if that’s where the disease originated.

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The good thing about colon cancer is it’s a type of cancer that can actually be prevented altogether if it’s caught in its earliest form. And even if it’s too late to be prevented, colon cancers that are detected early stand a much better chance of being successfully treated.

Colon Cancer Symptoms

“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. Paul Oberstein, a medical oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet. “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.”

Possible signs of the disease to look out for include:

• A change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool that lasts for more than a few days
• A feeling that you need to have a bowel movement that’s not relieved by having one
• Rectal bleeding with bright red blood
• Blood in the stool, which might make the stool look dark brown or black
• Cramping or abdominal (belly) pain
• Weakness and fatigue
• Unintended weight loss

In addition to symptom knowledge, it’s crucial to prioritize recommended screenings via colonoscopy.

“In the United States, on a national level, colorectal cancer has been decreasing for the last 20 years,” Dr. Heather Yeo, a surgical oncologist who specializes in colorectal cancers at Weill Cornell Medicine, explained. “And much of that is thought to be directly due to screening for colon cancer.”

Diet and Health: Foods that Might Prevent Colon Cancer

Despite the fact that colorectal cancer has been decreasing, there’s been a concerning new trend of more young people getting colorectal cancer with “one in five new cases” now occurring in people in their early 50s or younger. That’s why the the United States Preventive Services Task Force recently updated its colorectal cancer screening recommendations to begin at age 45 instead of 50.

The early-onset cancers tend to be more aggressive and caught at later stages. According to a recently published report, patients younger than 50 years tend to be women. Younger patients are also more likely to present with hematochezia (rectal bleeding) and abdominal pain at least in part because of the predominance of left-sided tumors.

Talk with your doctor if you ever have any concerning changes to your health, and discuss what screening should look like for you. Research suggests a tailored approach based on your lifestyle and family history may be best when determining your colonoscopy schedule.

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