Clinton Township woman to appear in national colorectal cancer awareness campaign
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The American Cancer Society says colorectal cancers are becoming more common in the U.S.
CRC is now the second deadliest cancer in the country.
The month of March spotlights this disease and why advocacy is one of the most important things people can do to help bring awareness to this disease.
Cancer changed Erin Verscheure's life on Aug. 31, 2016. It was Verscheure's first day of college.
"I was 18 and I had stage 4 colon cancer," Verscheure said. "She (Verscheure's mother) came in and she sat down next to me."
Erin Verscheure and her mom, who had her first day of work, were sitting on the couch together after their school and work days had concluded.
"She was like the doctor called and she said it is cancer," said Verscheure.
"I went from just being an 18-year-old. I just graduated. I was in school. I was about to finally have this future that I wanted and go to school and just move on, but it was stopped because I had cancer. I just won't forget that moment of my life."
The moments leading up to Verscheure's colorectal cancer diagnosis were confusing and vague.
"I literally just learned about colon cancer an hour earlier on my computer on Google," said Verscheure.
In the winter of 2015 she first noticed blood in her stool. That is one of the first signs of colon cancer.
"I thought it was normal because nobody really ever told me anything different," said Verscheure. "Nobody talks about that. You do not talk about your butt."
She's very open about what happened to her and hopes others are too.
During various doctor visits from winter 2015 until August 2016, she was told she may have hemorrhoids, or salmonella, or Crohn's disease, but never cancer.
"It was terrifying," said Verscheure.
That was until Verscheure was treated at University of Michigan's Cancer Center.
She began an aggressive treatment plan that included several rounds of chemotherapy in the hospital and also at home to get rid of the tumor in her colon and multiple polyps in her abdomen.
She credits U of M Hospitals with saving her life. Doctors told her she had a 9% chance to survive.
"Whenever I saw people they were like, 'oh Erin how are you, like are you doing okay? You look great. I was like, oh ya I am awesome. I am so good. I had chemo this weekend. I am good no worries.' but that is just what I wanted people to see," said Verscheure. I was feeling horrible."
The horrible feeling remained even after she was told she was in remission. That came less than a year later from the initial diagnosis.
In August 2017 she was given the good news.
Since then, the 25-year-old is a huge advocate in fighting colorectal cancer and sticking up for those going through the battle and she also travels to our nation's capitol.
She will be one of 15 people featured in a new awareness campaign launching on the National Mall in Washington, D.C,. in March.
"I never imagined ever having cancer, but I never imagined the life cancer gave me now and the strength it has given me," said Verscheure.
The "Fight for More" campaign featuring Verscheure emphasizes what the colorectal cancer (CRC) community needs more of, especially from lawmakers.
Verscheure's photo and story will appear on outdoor digital boards next to 27,500 blue flags planted on the National Mall representing the expected cases of colorectal cancer in people under the age of 50 by 2030.