At 46, Scott never expected to hear he had colon cancer

Last fall, Scott Wenner wasn’t feeling great. He brushed it off for a while, until he couldn’t.

“I never go to the doctor unless I absolutely have to. I probably haven’t been to the doctor in 12 years. But the pain wasn’t going away, and my wife was getting nervous. I told her I would go in and get it taken care of,“ remembered Scott.

Scott went to the doctor complaining of stomach pain and bloating sensation so the doctor ordered some labs and a CAT scan. The CAT scan showed that one of his kidneys was swollen so they originally suspected that his kidney was the culprit for the pain.

But things weren’t quite adding up. They also noted that he was overdue for a colonoscopy, so they referred him to general surgeon, Dr. Robert Steininger, M.D. who performs colonoscopies.

At 46, Scott met the criteria for getting a colonoscopy. Due to an increase in people aged 45 – 50 getting colon cancer, the recommendation is to get your first colonoscopy starting at age 45.

On the day of the procedure, Dr. Steininger met with Scott and asked him if he had been having stomach discomfort or any changes in his bowel habits. When Scott said he was, and knowing about the changes in Scott’s kidney, that tipped Dr. Steininger off that something might be going on in Scott’s colon.

During a colonoscopy, the patient is sedated, and a small flexible tube with a camera is inserted into the colon to look for polyps and any other changes in the colon. Polyps are small growths that can be cancerous. If found, they are removed and sent in for analysis.

“While performing Scott’s colonoscopy, I noticed a narrowing that made me suspicious. Unfortunately, as I moved the camera around, I was able to see a large, irregular mass so I took several biopsies of it. The mass was pressing on his ureter which is connected to the kidney and explains why his kidney was swollen,” described Dr. Steininger.

After his colonoscopy, Dr. Steininger came in and shared with Scott that they had found colon cancer. He didn’t know the extent of the cancer and told Scott that they would send the biopsies in for further analysis.

“I never thought that I was going to hear the word cancer. It’s something you never want to hear, but then to hear it the Friday before Christmas was a little bit of a shock. Personally, I thought Dr. Steininger and his staff were amazing that day. They were very sincere and provided us with information. They even called me at home to see how I was doing and if I needed anything,” Scott remembered.

The week after Christmas, Scott and his wife, Tanya had a follow up appointment where it was confirmed that he had colon cancer.

Surgery wasn’t recommended at this point, so Dr. Steininger referred Scott to Sanford’s Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo for further testing to see how advanced it was and what his treatment options were.

While there, he met with an oncologist and had a PET scan, which is an imaging test that makes cancer cells light up on the scan. Scott’s scan showed that the cancer had spread from his colon to his liver and lungs.

Chemo Treatment

Scott’s treatment plan was six rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumors. He would start his chemo treatments at Roger Maris, but would eventually be able to do it in Perham.

Every other week, Scott travels to Roger Maris for his next round of chemo. A typical day starts at 7:30 in the morning when he meets with the oncologist. By 8:30, he starts his chemo, and they hook up a chemo pump. He is usually heading home by 1:30 in the afternoon.

“It’s amazing. They program the pump for how much chemo to release per hour and then it just basically counts down until it’s empty. I shut it off and go to the Perham hospital and get it removed,” he explains.

Chemo in Perham is a Game Changer

Scott was able to have some of his health care needs handled in Perham like having his chemo pump removed and port draws and blood work. This has saved him trips to Fargo.

Next up, getting his chemotherapy in Perham.

Roger Maris Cancer Center has partnered with Perham Health to provide chemotherapy locally. Staff from Perham Health have been training at Roger Maris. They are starting out small with two infusion chairs while a new infusion therapy center is created.

“Now that I’ve completed several rounds of chemo and they’ve seen how I’ve done, they feel confident that I can start getting my chemo in Perham. This will be incredible. It will be nice to be in town with people who know me, and save me countless hours of driving,” said Scott.

After round six, Scott will head back to Roger Maris for another PET scan to see how the chemo is working. Hopefully it’s attacking the tumors and shrinking them.

“Get a colonoscopy. It’s a simple test that could save your life. Be more aware of your health and don’t be as stubborn as I was. At least, go in for routine checkups. This can happen to anyone, and I don’t want anyone to go through what I have.”

“Nobody knows, but it’s always in the back of my mind that maybe it wouldn’t have been this bad if I had gone in a year ago.”

“But we’ll get through it and I’m looking forward to the next PET scan results. I pray to God that the chemo is doing what it’s supposed to be doing,” said Scott.

Dr. Steininger’s Advice

“Get a colonoscopy starting at age 45. Scott was having symptoms, but oftentimes, people have no symptoms. The big benefit of routinely getting colonoscopies is that we can find polyps when they’re small, before they are cancerous. We can remove them, preventing a larger surgery and other complications.”

To schedule a colonoscopy, call 218-347-4500.

Robert Steininger, MD

General Surgery