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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WWW.KANSAN.COM News WEDNESDAY,JULY 9,2008
PROFILE
Cancer diagnosis renews faith in graduate
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
On a mid-August morning nearly three years ago, cramps shot through jeffYoung'sstom-
jerf roings stomach. He headed for the hospital assuming he had a bad case of food poisoning.
Four days later, Abby Young spent her birthday in the hospital buried under a doctor's grim verdict: A colonoscopy had revealed a mass
in her husband's colon. It was probably cancerous.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The next week, doctors removed the mass that blocked Jeff's digestive system. A closer look revealed the lining of his stomach was dotted with what looked like a shotgun spray of cancer seedlings.
"You have taught us to judge each day, not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant."
Jeff Young holds the 2008 NCAA Championship trophy. Young spends most of his days in bed but managed to make it to downtown Lawrence in April to witness the Jayhawks win the championship.
The procedure took two lymph nodes and one-third of Jeff's colon, and gave a diagnosis and a prognosis: The 28 year-old had stage four or terminal -colon cancer.
all the hard work was paying off, and this happened," Jeff said. "Our income literally went to zero overnight."
Cancer put the brakes on the couple's life. Abby's former employer cut her loose less than one week before
LETTER FROM JEFF AND ABBY'S FRIENDS
"The journey began," Jeff said. "The ride started."
*****
Jeff and Abby were building a life together. Jeff's self-owned mortgage company was growing and Abby, a 2004 graduate, was bringing in a steady paycheck from her first job out of college. The two had just bought their first house.
"Finally we were making money.
she would have become eligible for benefits from the Family and Medical Leave Act. If Abby were eligible for FMLA benefits, she could have taken unpaid leave with the guarantee of returning to her job.
Jeff struggled with the idea of putting his life in the doctors' hands during his first round of chemotherapy. He became impatient with his lack of medical progress and unsteady financial situation.
"I started to lose faith in humanity," Jeff said. "You'd think that if people would hear that someone who is 28 just got diagnosed with terminal cancer, they'd be a little bit more like, 'Can we help you?' or, We're sorry, more than, 'You're costing us money'".
Jeff's young age worked as a handicap after his diagnosis. The couple searched for guidance, but most support groups were meant for children or senior patients. Abby said the lack of information for young people trying to live with cancer was frustrating.
*****
Bad day after bad day passed until
Jeff and Abby met a nurse named Georgenia Bowling. Georgenia's job was to tend to an infection on Jeff's stomach, but she did more than that. When the couple left for a doctor's appointment one day, Georgenia slipped them an envelope containing $50 and a note that read, "Go have a good dinner."
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Jeff Young pets his dog, Oscar. Young was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer in August and has been struggling to adjust to the changes that have resulted.
"The three of us just clicked, and instead of a nurse-patient relationship, it was more of a friendship," Jeff said. "She was the first one who ever did anything for us."
Georgenia guided Jeff's treatment and helped Abby find helpful resources on the Internet. Abby found a more cooperative employer. She works for the state of Kansas, and is allowed leave to take care of Jeff.
"Little things just started happening," Jeff said. "All of a sudden people you thought were negative were giving everything and bending over backward. At that point, something changed in me, personally."
Georgenia was just the beginning. People started noticing,started helping with the little things to make the bad days better.
The couple returned home one day to find their next door neighbor cleaning and repairing their house's gutters.
April 7, 2008, was one of the good days. Just one week after a doctor recommended Jeff enter hospice care for people who are close to death, the couple went to a sports bar to watch the Kansas basketball team win the national championship. Afterward, Abby wheeled Jeff down Massachusetts Street in celebration with tens of thousands of fellow Jayhawk fans. Now a basketball signed by the championship team serves as the centerpiece of Jeff's Jayhawk-centric basement.
June 7 was another good day. Some of the couple's friends set up a poker tournament to help raise funds for Jeff's treatment. Area stores donated prizes such as a flat screen television, a barbeque grill and an iPod for a raffle.
"When people step up to the plate to help even though they don't know you that well, it's breathtaking to see and experience," Abby said. "You can't express how much it helps."
One day the next week, Cici's Pizza donated 25 percent of its profits to Jeff and Abby. Applebee's followed suit.
*****
Because it is commonly connected with old age, colon cancer isn't
considered a young peoples' disease. According to the American Cancer Society, less than one percent of colon cancer diagnoses occur in people aged 39 or younger. But considering more than 110,000 cases occurred nationwide in 2007, it is clear colon cancer does affect young Americans.
"Most of our patients are 50 or older, but unfortunately we do see it happen to younger people once in a while," Lawrence Memorial Hospital Clinical Coordinator Julie Tuley said. "It often happens when people get into their 30s."
Abby has become a part of the young cancer community, visiting Web sites such as www.youngcancer-spouses.com and www.planetcancer.org to connect with and offer advice to others dealing with similar situations.
"There's a whole community out there," Abby said. "It's more prevalent than people think, but it's not being diagnosed because the most common symptom for colon cancer is no symptom."
Jeff did his part to help by insisting
his family members each undergo a cancer screening. As a result of the tests, doctors found and removed early stages of colon cancer in Jeff's 23 year-old sister, Kristina.
Touched by Jeff and Abby's optimism and actions, their friends sent them a letter that read in part, "You have taught us to judge each day, not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant."
*****
Jeff Young spends the bad days in bed, sedated.
On a good day, the couple might head to the park with their dogs, Oscar and Jennie. Or Abby might take push Jeff, in his wheelchair, up and down Massachusetts Street.
"Everyday life has changed in every aspect," Abby said. "But the things that aren't controlled by the cancer we keep very close and dear."
Without many days guaranteed, it's all about making them good days.
— Edited by Jesse Temple