Thackston Finishes Treatment
- FOX anchor Lindy Thackson shares in a Tweet that she has finished treatment for rectal cancer and she is officially a survivor.
- Rectal cancer, colon cancer, and colorectal cancer, are typically detected via colonoscopy, which looks for polyps (small growths) in the colon.
- After a cancer diagnosis, some people experience grief and depression; speaking with mental health professionals can help.
4 surgeries. 15 rounds of chemo pills and radiation. 10 rounds of IV chemo. 24-day hospital stay. Countless ER visits. More pain than I can put into words, but also more joy. Time to heal now! #cancersurvivor pic.twitter.com/AqUBoX7O24
— Lindy Thackston (@lindythackston) April 12, 2021
Screening for Rectal Cancer
Thackston battled rectal cancer, which is typically detected via colonoscopy. This screening procedure is used to detect colon cancer, rectal cancer, and colorectal cancer. During a colonoscopy, the doctor is looking for polyps, small growths on the colon which can turn into cancer.
In an earlier interview, colorectal surgeon Dr. Zuri Murrell explains this procedure. “People often ask me, what do you do when you have a colonoscopy? What’s done? Do you do biopsies? So a colonoscopy can be done for many things. But when we’re looking at a colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, what we do is we’re looking for polyps, which are these small growths.”
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“When we see a polyp, we actually physically take the polyp out through the colonoscope,” says Dr. Murrell. “What happens is then when we take the polyp out, we send that to a lab. In about five to 10 business days, we get the results back. So when it’s in the lab, a pathologist basically cuts up the little polyp and looks under a microscope. And underneath the microscope, they can decide whether or not it is early cancer or whether it is just a precancerous polyp.”
95% of polyps are precancerous and could turn into cancer if left untreated.
Looking for Polyps During Colonoscopy
Coping with a Diagnosis
Being diagnosed with cancer can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You can get the support you need from mental health professionals, such as a therapist, oncological social worker or a support group for cancer patients.
Many people experience feelings of anxiety, grief, and even depression after getting diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Scott Irwin, the director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai, explains in an earlier interview how he works with cancer patients struggling with depression. “Depression is a really interesting topic, because a lot of people assume that, oh, they have cancer,” he says.
“They must be depressed. That’s actually not true. 85% of patients do not get what would be considered a clinical depression. 15% do. For prescribing medications for depression in the context of cancer, I often try to choose medications with the lowest side effect profile,” says Dr. Irwin.
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