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WatermanWellness
|
Winter 2015
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Cynthia DeVos,
a pastor at First Presbyterian
Church of Mount Dora,
credits her passion for helping
others as a source of strength
throughout her journey to
survivorship.
Despite her mother passing
from kidney cancer and her
sister overcoming her own
battle with colon cancer,
DeVos didn’t worry much
about her risk for cancer.
An annual checkup with her
primary care physician revealed blood in her stool, and from that
day on, her outlook was forever changed.
DeVos was immediately sent for a colonoscopy, which
confirmed that she would need surgery to remove a cancerous
mass from her colon. Rambabu Tummala, MD, medical
oncologist, oversaw her treatment and was an instrumental part of
her support system.
After her surgery, Dr. Tummala encouraged chemotherapy as
another component to her treatment.
“Chemotherapy treatment after surgery is done to remove
microscopic cancer cells that might have been left behind or may
have spread to other parts of the body but are too small to be seen
on imaging tests,” Dr. Tummala says.
Six months after her surgery another tumor appeared in her liver.
“Cancerous cells sometimes break off from the main tumor
and settle in other parts of the body,” Dr. Tummala says. “For
those diagnosed with high-risk stage II or stage III colon cancer,
A strong support system helped Cynthia DeVos overcome her battle with colon cancer
adjuvant chemo is oftentimes recommended to decrease the
chance that the cancer will spread.”
Following DeVos’s second surgery, she endured six months of
chemotherapy.
“There were days that I did not want to leave the house, but
knowing that I would be helping others through the Word of
God motivated me to go to work every day,” DeVos says.
She credits her faith, a strong support system, and the
compassionate care provided by Dr. Tummala and his office staff
for helping her overcome the difficulty she experienced during
treatment.
DeVos can now happily say she has been cancer-free for eight
years and is an advocate for regular screenings.
“If I had put more thought into it, I could have saved myself a
lot of heartache,” she says. “I think a lot of people put off having
a colonoscopy because of the prep involved, but it saved my life
and it can save others too.”
“A good rule of thumb to follow if someone in your family
has been diagnosed with cancer is to start screening 10 years less
than the age of the family member diagnosed,” Dr. Tummala
recommends. “For instance, if your father was diagnosed when he
was 55, you should start having regular screenings by age 45.”
A COLONOSCOPY SCREENING
COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE
Don’t hesitate. Call your primary
care physician and schedule a
screening today. For a list of primary
care physicians in your area, visit
FHWaterman.com.
A little
faith
goes a
long way
Rambabu Tummala, MD