Survivor Story - Bryan Schaffer

My name is Bryan. I am a father and a farmer. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2018. This is my cancer story.

I first noticed symptoms in 2016. The symptoms that I had were very vague. I had frequent diarrhea, and blood in my stool at times.  My wife noticed I spent more time than normal in the bathroom and she thought I might have a problem, but I cast that off. When I began to have blood in my stool, it was very little. In fact, I often thought it could be a tomato peal from salsa I often ate. But, the mystery blood seemed to occur about once a month, so at the suggestion of my wife, I got an appointment for a physical. The doctor asked me many questions and I seemed very healthy to him, but when I told him of the blood, he made an appointment for a gastroenterologist specialist.

The gastro doctor did a variety of tests over the course of a few weeks, and had me regulate my diet to see if anything changed. Then my symptoms vanished. I stopped going to the doctor and had no symptoms for about 6 months. I thought whatever I had had passed.

When the symptoms returned, I saw a lot of blood in my stool and knew I had to go back in ASAP. When I went back in, the doctor ordered more tests and a colonoscopy. When the surgeon was finished with my colonoscopy, I received the news immediately. He had found a tumor inside my rectum and that it was probably cancer. He would send a sample to pathology and I'd find out in a few days. I was also sent the next day for a CT scan. I was terrified. I was healthy. I had no family history of cancer. I did not drink or smoke. I ate healthy. I was active. I was only 39. This is not supposed to happen to me!!! 

I received my phone call on May 5th 2018. I was in the middle of planting my crop and my world stopped. Nothing is quite as sobering as a phone call from Roger Maris Cancer center. This was real. I was terrified. I spent the next few days in the tractor, alone, thinking about my kids, my wife, my farm, and my life.

My first contact was from RMCC from a nice girl named Cassy who was an excellent guide. She explained what my tests meant, and what I needed to do next. My cancer needed to be properly staged, so I had an endoscope done. I was stage 3c. My dad, my cousin, and my neighbors stepped up and took care of my farm while I did whatever I needed to do.

My first step was meeting with the doctors at RMCC. They were fantastic, but I felt I needed to educate myself more, so I went for a second opinion at Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. There, they told me the same things, but the surgeon I met with had more experience with this kind of tumor, so i decided to do my treatment at home in Fargo ND, but do surgery at Mayo.

I began daily radiation and a pill form of (xeloda) chemotherapy the following week. I really didn't have any problems until 3 weeks in. Then I was in hell. Radiation is no joke.

 I did 5 1/2 weeks of Monday-Friday treatments. Then I needed time to heal up, because the next step was surgery.

Three months  later I had surgery at Mayo. The surgery was long. 9 hours. I woke up with 12 inches of my colon gone and an illiostomy bag. An illiostomy bag is a temporary colostomy.   I had a little blockage after my surgery which turned into quite the problem and ended up staying in the hospital for 15 days.  Vomiting every 10 hours wasn't real enjoyable. But finally the surgeon found my blockage and rushed me in for another surgery to clear it and the next morning I felt a million times better.  I was released the next day. Good lord did that feel great!

Managing my new bathroom habits with the illiostomy were a challenge, but I learned it in no time and was almost back to normal.

I was to heal from that for a few weeks, then start a clean up round of chemotherapy. For that I needed to get a port installed. A port is a device implanted beneath the skin so doctors and nurses can more easily administer medicine.  I was on a 14 day cycle. I went in for chemotherapy every other Monday and went home with a bag that would also deliver more chemotherapy over 48 hours. Chemotherapy is no joke. It sucks.  Aside from feeling like crap, the worst part for me was losing my taste buds. Never ever take your taste buds for granted. I would lose mine immediately on Monday, then I wouldn't get them back until the following Thursday night. 10 days of no taste buds....then when they returned I'd hog out like crazy for 4 days.

 After 4 more months of chemotherapy, I had an MRI on my last day of chemotherapy. It was then that received the happiest news of my life. My cancer was now gone. No Evidence of Disease!  I was now on my road to recovery and new lease on life. 

 I am now one year N.E.D. and am dealing with the after affects of all the hell my body went through. Things continue to improve, and I count my blessings ever single day.  Once you take on cancer, everything else is a walk in the park.

Thanks for reading my story. As I go forward I try to help others who are going though this battle and bring awareness to it. Early detection is best defense. Colonoscopies save lives! Love Your Buns!!!