What was your initial reaction to learning you had cancer?
It was pretty awful. And it was so completely unexpected. I was 30 years old. There was no history of cancer in my family. I had been a vegetarian for 10 years. So there was nothing that could have prepared me for the news that I had Stage 4 colon cancer. So it was very difficult, and it's still difficult.
What treatment did you pursue after the diagnosis?
They didn't want to operate right away because there was just too much disease through my abdomen at that point, so I began with chemotherapy. Six to eight months later, I had surgery.
How did your friends and family react? Were they helpful during your treatment?
I was actually very surprised by how loving and supportive they all were. You expect that from your family, but all of my friends as well-even people who I wasn't incredibly close to-really pulled together and did everything they could for me. They would take me to appointments or keep me company when I wasn't feeling well. I didn't really experience anybody running away from me at that time, which surprised me. Because I don't know how I would react if I found out that a friend had cancer.
