Mother Raising Colon Cancer Awareness After Daughter Dies Of Disease
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Clarice Angelo has lived through every mother's worst nightmare.
In the summer of 2012, her daughter Christy started having severe stomach pain. After several doctor visits and tests, Christy received a devastating diagnosis.
She had a rare and extremely aggressive form of colon cancer.
"Driving home from that appointment was just one of the worst days. What do you say? What do you talk about when you get a diagnosis like that? Its hard, its really hard," Clarice Angelo said.
Christy underwent surgery, and at one point, was going through three chemo-therapy treatments at one time. But nothing touched the cancer and it continued to spread.
She fought hard and always with a positive attitude, but on Christmas Eve, less than five months after receiving the heartbreaking news, 31-year-old Christy passed away at home, surrounded by family.
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"Life becomes a new normal and we fight on for her," Clarice said.
Clarice's fight is now to raise awareness about colon cancer. Through walks and events with Team Semi-Colon, created by Christy before she passed away, she's already raised thousands of dollars for research.
Dr. James McCormick with Allegheny Health Network, performed Christy's surgery. He says although her case was unique, he is seeing more and more young patients with the disease.
"We found that about 10 percent of our patients are under age 50, which is the traditional age that we start screening, so we find that these people are obviously falling out of the normal screening age and they are kind of out of what we would expect for the disease," McCormick said.
Dr. Mccormick says there is reason to at least look into lowering the recommended age for colonoscopy. Clarice agrees.
"Five weeks sooner, six weeks sooner, had we done the colonoscopy, you know, the thoughts that go through my mind is could we have removed the tumor before it had spread," she said.
Clarice will never know that answer, but she will forever have the memories of Christy and the brave battle she fought.
