Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
A man was stunned to be told he had cancer and that it was spreading to other organs after only experiencing one symptom.
Shawn Michael, 48, from Springfield Missouri, has opened up about his cancer story in a video that has gone viral on social media.
He shared his diagnosis on The Patient Story's YouTube channel last month and the video has so far amassed almost 100,000 views.
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Medics eventually diagnosed Michael with stage four colorectal cancer and told him it had begun spreading to some of his other organs.
Despite this, he and his doctors remain optimistic he can beat his cancer diagnosis due to his age as well as his general good health.
However, the diagnosis was quite a surprise to Michael and his family as he was only dealing with one relatively common symptom beforehand.
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After experiencing some bowel issues in October last year, the 48-year-old believed he was suffering from constipation but hadn’t yet found anything to effectively relieve himself.
Finding no help from over-the-counter remedies he sought help from an urgent care center that gave him what he described as ‘napalm for your intestines’.
This did relieve his symptoms, however, Michael explained that he still felt something was off.
Opening up about his story, he said: “Two days later I could still physically feel something inside of me. It hurt so bad.”
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Returning to urgent care he had a CT scan, and it revealed a mass in his colon and he was informed that he needed immediate surgery to remove the blockage. Doctors also found other concerning masses but there had been some positive news.
During the operation, they removed a large part of his colon and found several very large cancer-like tumors on his omentum, a large layer of fatty tissue that wraps around the colon.
Michael added: “[The surgeon] explained that the obstruction that was in my colon at the time was so large he was absolutely shocked that it hadn't ruptured yet.
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“That was actually kind of a lucky break that it had attached to that fatty tissue there.
“That had been able to help slow down the progression to the other organs.”
While the initial operation was considered a success and doctors removed all the cancer they could find, some remains in his body.
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Michael is now set to undergo chemotherapy for three months in hopes of killing off the remainder of the cancer and remains hopeful for his eventual recovery.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Topics: Cancer, Health, Social Media
Gerrard Kaonga