‘I was in denial’: Teacher who beat Stage 4 colorectal cancer shares story
GATES MILLS, Ohio (WJW) – Listen to your body. It’s a lesson that Gilmour Academy teacher Sheena Zadai, a Stage 4 colorectal cancer survivor, nearly learned too late.
“I remember worrying about symptoms that I had been having but I didn’t say anything,” said Zadai.
This Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Zadai said never doubt the nagging feeling something is off.
“I had a feeling there was something really wrong,” said Zadai. “I was in denial.”
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Younger than the recommended screening age of 45, Zadai said it was months before she scheduled a December 2020 colonoscopy.
Immediately after the procedure, she was diagnosed with Stage 3B colorectal cancer at age 38 years old. Her diagnoses later upgraded to Stage 4.
Zadai said she has no family history of the disease.
The American Cancer Society reports colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men 50 and under and second leading cause in women under 50 years old.
“I don’t know what stage I would have been if I had gone then,” she said about prolonging screening. “It might have been something that just cleared up with surgery and chemotherapy, but I’ll never know and that is kind of a regret.”
The cancer spread to her liver and after a combination of liver surgery, radiation and chemo, there is no evidence of disease.
“I think once I hit five years, I’ll be like yeah, but it’s going to be something I’ll think about my entire life,” Zadai said.
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Zadai was treated at the Cleveland Clinic. The hospital has a Center for Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer.
In 2023, among the 198 patients seen the hospital, the average age at time of diagnosis was 42 years old. 47% of those patients had a diagnosis of colon cancer and 48% were diagnosed with rectal cancer. The Cleveland Clinic reports nearly half of the cases, 48%, were Stage 4 colorectal cancer or recurrence colorectal cancer.
“Don’t deny it,” said Zadai. “Don’t go to that area of denial. Be proactive if you’re seeing symptoms or if you think something is wrong, just go to the doctor immediately. Even if you’re in your twenties because it really is increasing in patients under 50 and it is inexplicable right now, I don’t understand why and I don’t think the doctors do either.”
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