After the colonoscopy, which she had done in April 2025, McGollum underwent further testing — bloodwork, a CT scan, and an MRI — which revealed a mass on her ovaries.

To determine the best course of action, she consulted a multidisciplinary team of physicians at Intermountain Health. Together, they mapped out a treatment plan involving surgery in May 2025, 18 weeks of chemotherapy, and five and a half weeks of radiation therapy.”

McGollum—who has since taken time off from her work as a dental hygienist due to peripheral neuropathy, a chemotherapy side effect that presents as numbness or tingling in her fingers—decided to move forward with the mindset of, “Give me a plan so I can focus on it, and tell me what I need to do.”

Now, having completed treatment in December 2025, McGollum is hoping to encourage others on the importance of early detection and cancer screenings.

As follow-up scans in January and July 2026 showed no signs of metastatic disease, and her physicians continue monitoring her with CT scans and follow-up appointments every six months, McGollum advises, others to get screened.

McGullam, who had no family history of the disease, said, “If my doctor hadn’t talked me into the colonoscopy, I don’t know where I would be right now. People are resistant to getting checked and having a routine colonoscopy because of fear, but I think everybody should do it.

“The best thing for them to find is nothing. But if they find it sooner, it’s easier to treat, and you don’t have to go through as many things as I did.”

After urging that a diagnosis is “not a death sentence,” but a “plan,” she concluded to Intermountain Health, “If you follow the plan and stay positive, it helps along the way.

“You have difficulties, but if you look at the positive each day, it helps you get through the difficult times. You choose to be positive, and that helps with recovery.”

Looking back on her symptoms, she told Montana news outlet KTVQ, “Actually, I didn’t feel like I had any symptoms at all. Basically, if I really had to evaluate it, maybe a little bit of bloating after I ate.

“I had no family history. I didn’t feel like I had any symptoms.I promised her [her doctor] that if it was positive I’d get a colonoscopy.”

Offering insight into how she hopes to get back to work in the future, she told KTVQ, “In the field of dental, you’re a caregiver, and we work very closely to sensitive areas in the mouth. One of those things that’s necessary is tactile sense with your fingers. Because of my chemotherapy, I have peripheral neuropathy, and that doesn’t allow for me to feel very well when I’m working on somebody.

“I don’t know if I’ll go back into clinical practice the way my hands have been feeling. But I’m hoping to kind of retrain my brain and possibly do something in the dental field in the future.”

Stage 4 colon cancer means the disease has spread beyond the colon to other organs. The liver, lungs, and peritoneum—the lining of the abdomen—are the most common sites of metastasis. Because the extent of spread varies widely, treatment plans must be tailored to each individual.

“A stage 4 can be one tiny spot on the liver, or it could be 100 spots throughout the abdomen, and obviously those patients are going to be treated differently,” Dr. Daniel Labow, Chief of the Surgical Oncology Division at Mount Sinai Health System previously explained to SurvivorNet.

“Effective chemotherapy and effective surgery are both important for the best possible outcome, and part of the job is figuring out which one should come first.”

WATCH: Not All Metastatic Colon Cancer Patients Are the Same

Coping with Peripheral Neuropathy

Even if you or your loved one is on a chemotherapy regimen that poses a lower risk of neuropathy, you could still face nerve-related side effects.

Here are some tips to help manage and cope:

• Speak Up Early: Tell your doctor or nurse about any numbness, tingling, or pain as soon as it begins. Early intervention can sometimes prevent symptoms from worsening.
• Protect Your Hands and Feet: Wear shoes and socks that fit well to avoid injury. Use warm (not hot) water to wash your hands or feet, and check your skin regularly for cuts or blisters.
• Ask About Medications or Supplements: Some supplements, pain relievers, and topical creams might help with nerve pain. Always consult your medical team before starting anything new.
• Physical and Occupational Therapy: Specialized exercises or assistive devices may reduce discomfort and help maintain balance, coordination, and the ability to perform daily tasks.
• Stay Active: Light exercise, like walking or low-impact yoga, can improve circulation and help with stiffness, though you should talk to your doctor first if you’re unsure about any activity.
• Seek Emotional Support: Dealing with breast cancer is already challenging, and adding peripheral neuropathy to the mix can be stressful. Consider professional counseling, support groups (in person or online), and leaning on family and friends for help.

Understanding Chemotherapy Side Effects

Coping With an Advanced Colon Cancer Diagnosis

“The first-line (initial treatment) chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer, if they’ve not seen any other chemotherapy before, is the standard FOLFOX,” Colorectal Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist Dr. Heather Yeo told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.

“Most colon cancers do respond to FOLFOX. If you respond really well, then we keep you on that until you stop responding really well. But if after a few cycles your disease has progressed, that’s when we think about adding additional chemotherapies,” Dr. Yeo continued.

WATCH: Managing Metastatic Colon Cancer

The cancer starts when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. If you don’t have these polyps removed, they can sometimes change into cancer. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become a full-blown cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts.

Most colon cancers can be prevented if people are regularly screened. The screening usually involves a colonoscopy, in which a long, thin tube attached to a camera examines the colon and rectum. If no polyps are discovered, the following screening won’t be needed for about ten years.

What Treatment Options Exist for Colon Cancer?

“There are a lot of advances being made in colorectal cancer,” Dr. Yeo previously told SurvivorNet.

Colon cancer treatment is more targeted, meaning doctors often test for specific changes or genetic mutations that cause cancer growth.

Biomarkers are key to tailoring specific treatments. Biomarkers are molecular patterns becoming more commonly used in colon cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and management. According to the National Cancer Institute, a biomarker is “a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or a condition or disease,” such as cancer.

WATCH: Molecular Profiling & Colon Cancer — Critical Testing Patients Should Know

“In colon cancer, we’re starting to look more and more at people’s biomarkers, so we’re starting to take the cancers, sequence them, understand where the different mutations are to figure out whether or not someone has a normal gene here or an abnormal gene,” Dr. Yeo explained.

“Those are the areas that people want to be able to target a little bit more. We’re getting close to more of what we would call precision medicine, meaning we can start looking at people’s genetic mutations and think about how they might respond to different drugs.”

There are different types of biomarkers, including DNA, proteins, and genetic mutations found in blood, tumor tissue, or other body fluids. The biomarkers most commonly used in colon cancer management are:

• Genetic mutations within the tumor, such as MMR/MSI, KRAS, BRAF, and HER2
• Bloodstream carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)

CEA is a protein produced by most tumor cells (but not all) and can be picked up in the bloodstream. High CEA levels do not establish a colon cancer diagnosis. However, higher CEA levels correlate with a worse prognosis and potential metastasis. Carcinoembryonic antigen is important for post-treatment follow-up to ensure the cancer hasn’t returned. Be sure to check with your doctor before treatment starts to ensure a CEA blood sample has been obtained.

More on Treating Colon Cancer

Surgery and chemotherapy are common approaches to colorectal cancer.

Some examples of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved chemotherapy drug treatments include:

• FOLFOX: leucovorin, 5-FU, and oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)
• FOLFIRI: leucovorin, 5-FU, and irinotecan (Camptosar)
• CAPEOX or CAPOX: capecitabine (Xeloda) and oxaliplatin
• FOLFOXIRI: leucovorin, 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan
• Trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf)

WATCH: Understanding Your Options with Metastatic Colon Cancer

Among metastatic colon cancer patients, multiple treatment options exist, including surgical and non-surgical options.

One treatment option includes an oral treatment called Fruquintinib, which is a targeted therapy for adults who have metastatic colorectal cancer and have tried other treatments. Results from a trial published last year showed the drug improved overall survival and progression-free survival, which measures the amount of time before the cancer returns or spreads. It works by blocking the growth of blood vessels, which increases tumor growth.

Once you get to the metastatic setting, many patients “just run out of options,” Jennifer Elliott, head of solid tumors at Takeda, explained to SurvivorNet at the ASCO Annual Meeting. So it was critically important for Takeda to do this deal to in-license fruquintinib. We hope to give patients another option.”

Fruquintinib has been approved in China since 2018 and was originally developed by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company HUTCHMED. Takeda Oncology acquired the exclusive worldwide license for the drug outside of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau in January 2023.

More on Colon Cancer

Colon cancer is very treatable and curable if caught early. Colon cancer screenings can involve at-home tests such as Cologuard, but a colonoscopy is more effective, according to SurvivorNet experts.

The cancer starts when abnormal lumps called polyps grow in the colon or rectum. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become full-blown cancer, according to SurvivorNet experts.

The American Gastrointestinal Association lowered the recommended initial age for colorectal screening from 50 to 45. However, experts recommend screening earlier for some people who may be at an increased risk of developing colon cancer, such as those with a family history of the disease.

WATCH: Debunking misconceptions about colon cancer.

The most poignant signature of colon cancer includes a change in bowel habits. This may include constipation or diarrhea due 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.

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.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you have a colon cancer screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.

Additionally, here are some questions you may ask your doctor if you’re facing a colon cancer diagnosis:

• What are my treatment options based on my diagnosis?
• If I’m worried about managing the costs of cancer care, who can help me?
• What support services are available to me? To my family?
• Could this treatment affect my sex life? If so, how and for how long?
• What are the risks and possible side effects of treatment?

WATCH: How One Cancer Survivor and Her Sister Used “My Health Questions” to Navigate Care

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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