A Deeper Strength
Colon cancer survivor encourages others
to get screened.
Having battled colorectal cancer eight years ago, Keith Wright has
a newfound appreciation for the simple things in life.
“I don’t take anything for granted anymore, because there are no
guarantees,” Keith said recently. He loves tinkering on various
things in his garage and visiting his daughter, Allison, a student at
Illinois State University.
Keith is happy to be cancer-free today, but he still thinks about
the disease, including how it snuck up on him. “I was healthy.
I wasn’t sick all of the time, before I was diagnosed,” he said.
8 healthstyles
may 2017
Reflecting on the day he heard the news, Keith said, “I was
shocked.” Keith was just 38 years old, and he had no family
history of the disease.
Keith’s problems had begun two years earlier, when, at 36,
he started seeing blood in his stool. He went to his doctor for
an evaluation, and the doctor treated Keith for hemorrhoids.
Colorectal cancer wasn’t a consideration, because of his age.
When Keith’s symptoms worsened after nearly two years of
treatment, Keith had a colonoscopy at Sarah Bush Lincoln.