Allison Rosen went from lab researcher to colorectal cancer super advocate - she spends her days helping new patients and caregivers figure out how to navigate life with colorectal cancer. She shared her entire treatment journey with The Patient Story (full story → www.thepatientstory.com/cancers/colorectal/allison-rosen/).
We've listed time codes below to help you navigate this video. To those of you watching, we hope her story and words give you comfort and some knowledge on the day-to-day life with colorectal cancer.
1. Diagnosis
(00:26) 1st Symptoms
(2:10) Getting things checked out
(3:20) Describing the colonoscopy
(5:58) "Scanxiety" - dealing with waiting for test results
(8:09) Processing the diagnosis
2. Treatment Decisions
(9:48) Finding the right medical team
(12:44) Why she chose her hospital
(14:24) Treatment plan
3. Neoadjuvant Chemo-Radiation
(18:42) Oral chemo pill, Xeloda, and side effects
(21:20) Radiation and side effects
4. Surgery (Total Abdominal Colectomy)
(26:08) Prepping for surgery, emotional decisions
(31:30) Surgery and tips for updating loved ones
(33:08) Waking up from 14-hour surgery
(38:52) Recovering from major surgery
(41:15) Guidance on how to best recover
5. Surgical options
(35:21) The need for a stoma and ileostomy bag
(37:49) General surgical options
(45:55) Dealing with the ileostomy
6. Second Chemo
(43:28) More on oral chemo
(48:50) Follow-up protocol
7. Reflections
(30:05) Getting emotional support
(49:56) Hair loss was unique to Allison
(51:37) Top questions you get as a patient advocate
(52:30) Fertility preservation
(55:27) Long-term impacts of cancer
(57:20) How cancer affected relationships
(59:07) Finding your cancer community
(1:02:38) Last message to others