Richmond's Boxer Brief 5K for Colorectal Cancer Prevention

I am Rodney Keller.  This is my story.

Three years ago, I had my first colonoscopy.

Three years ago, I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. I was told I had a two inch tumor in my rectum and it was cancer.

Three years ago, it was a Friday. I remember the phone calls telling my loved ones the news and not knowing what would come next. I also remember going to church two days later and asking God for forgiveness and help on this journey. He has blessed me so much in the last three years.

Within about 3.5 weeks, I had a CT Scan, MRI Scan, a surgical procedure that removed about 13” of my rectum and sigmoid colon and an ileostomy bag.
I had oral chemotherapy over the summer and I had the ileostomy reversed about 5 months after the initial surgery. One month later I had a CT scan and we found 5 lung nodules. A needle biopsy was performed and the nodules sampled were determined to be benign.
6 months later, I had another CT scan and there were many more lung nodules. There was a lung resection/ biopsy and they were determined to be colon cancer in my lungs.

I started my iv chemotherapy on April 3, 2023. Almost two years ago.

I have had some growth in the lung nodules, but overall they have been kept in check with the treatments. God has blessed me to be able to tolerate the treatments as well as I have.

My message today is please get screened for Colorectal cancer. If you are 45 years old or older, it is time to talk to your doctor about getting screened.

There is a blood test, there is a mail-in box, and there is a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy is the gold standard and if you have abnormal results with either of the other tests, you will likely be recommended for a colonoscopy. It is not that bad, it is just one not so pleasant evening.

I am open to talk to anyone that has questions about colorectal cancer and colonoscopies. It is important to get screened.

March is colorectal cancer awareness month and it just so happens to be my anniversary month of being diagnosed with this horrible disease.