S moke S ignals
MARCH 15, 2018
9
Colon cancer survivor spreading awareness
Tribal Community Health
Promotion Specialist Amber
Case beat Stage 4 diagnosis
By Danielle Frost
Smoke Signals staff writer
You’re never “too young” to have
colon cancer, but being taken se-
riously because of age can be an
uphill battle.
Grand Ronde Tribal member
and Community Health employee
Amber Case, 34, knows that well.
Despite excruciating lower back
pain, abdominal discomfort and
fatigue, she says it was a challenge
to get an accurate diagnosis.
“When I was going through all of
my pain and symptoms, in and out
of emergency rooms, I was brushed
off as possibly being ‘pain seeking,’”
she says. “It didn’t come down to a
diagnosis until I was rectally bleed-
ing. Being considered a young and
healthy person and never getting
answers, it was tough.”
That was two years ago. After
grueling multiple rounds of che-
motherapy and surgery, Case has
been in remission for six months
and is now a strong advocate for
education and screening. She hopes
that sharing her story with others
will help them avoid the ordeal she
endured.
“As a stage four survivor, there
is an 80 percent chance that colon
cancer will return so I need to
remain vigilant,” she says. “The
next time, it won’t be a surgery and
removal. It will mean a colostomy
bag. … Colon cancer is on the rise
and statistics in Native Americans
are more than 50 percent higher
at risk increase. … We owe it to
ourselves to take the best care of
ourselves.”
Case set up a display in the
Tribal Health & Wellness Center
atrium as a part of Colon Cancer
Awareness Month, which is March.
The display contains informational
pamphlets and facts about colon
cancer, symptoms and diagnosis.
The background is blue, which is
the color of colon cancer awareness.
“It is easy to put the blame else-
where when you are going through
treatment, but I asked, ‘What am I
learning from this experience and
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Community Health Promotion Specialist Amber Case, left, talks with Tribal Elder Ruby Golden at the colon
cancer informational display Case set up in the Health & Wellness Center atrium on Friday, March 2. March is Colon
Cancer Awareness Month and Case is a stage four colon cancer survivor.
how can I help raise awareness?’ I
am an optimist by default,” Case
says.
After treatments and surgery for
colon cancer ended, Case applied
for the job as Community Health
specialist with the Tribe, where
she works primarily with clients
managing their diabetes.
“I really believe in prevention and
it starts with awareness,” she says.
“When I learned about this position,
I really felt like this is where I am
supposed to be.”
Two months after her colon can-
cer diagnosis in 2016, Case was
diagnosed with ovarian cancer and
underwent a full hysterectomy and
chemotherapy.
She has been in remission from
both cancers for six months. After
first being diagnosed with stage
four colon cancer, doctors gave her
a one in 10 chance of survival.
“That’s a big burden to carry,
but I thought that this was some-
thing Creator thought I was strong
enough to learn from,” Case says.
“Never think of it as, ‘Why is this
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happening to me?’ Think of it as,
‘What is this trying to teach me?’
My self life motto is to inspire and
effect.”
As a foster child, Case didn’t
know her family health history,
which she said was a huge barri-
er to getting a proper diagnosis.
Genetic testing, which involves a
blood draw, can be done for breast,
ovarian, colon and thyroid cancers,
according to cancer.net.
“This is a hereditary condition,”
Case says. “It’s not rare, it’s just not
talked about.”
While Case was sharing informa-
tion at the clinic atrium on Friday,
March 2, she was humbled by the
number of fellow employees from
various departments who stopped
by her table.
“It means the world to me that
they support me and being able
to give back like this is my way to
say thanks,” she says. “My hope
is to get providers on board with
recognizing these symptoms of
young onset colon cancer. I want
to bring more awareness, whether
it’s our environment, food choices
or getting more exercise. What can
we do?”
She shares statistics from a 2017
survey conducted by the Colorectal
Cancer Alliance of survivors young-
er than 50. These include:
• Sixty-one percent said they ex-
perienced financial difficulties
due to the cost of their cancer
treatment.
• Seventy-three percent were diag-
nosed at an advanced stage of the
disease (stage three or four).
• Sixty-five percent had to take a
leave of absence or quit a job or
school because of their diagnosis.
• Seventy-nine percent experienced
anxiety or depression during or
after treatment, or both, but only
42 percent said they sought treat-
ment or are currently seeking
treatment.
• The top three symptoms respon-
dents experienced that led them
to visit a medical professional
were blood in their stool, diar-
rhea/constipation or consistent
cramps.
During Case’s treatment, Tribal
employees hosted fry bread fund-
raisers, Health & Wellness Clinic
Dr. Marion Hull made house visits,
and employees dropped by with
food and care packages. Others do-
nated weeks of paid time off. Case’s
then-supervisor, Christa Hosley,
guided her through the process
of requesting disability leave and
advocated for her time off.
“The end result of all that was to
give back to work,” Case says. “It’s
a really good sense of community.”
She is also grateful to Tribal El-
ders for all of their support.
“When my hair started growing
back in, they told me they had
prayed for every hair on my head,”
Case says. “It is huge to me to know
that despite their pain, they still
get up and go. To have that sup-
port, to see them lead by example,
is important.”
Growing up, Case lived in 14
foster homes across Oregon, but al-
ways felt like she had a foundation
in Grand Ronde when she would
visit for medical appointments.
“I knew no matter how far I wan-
dered, I always had a home here,”
she says.
Her biological father, Clifford
Wills Case Jr., was a writer and
Case says he always emphasized
that part of moving forward and
surviving is sharing experiences
with the younger generation.
“I am an auntie and want to con-
tinue that and keep it a priority
to put ourselves and our health
first,” she says. “Prevention starts
with awareness and we owe it to
ourselves and our ancestors.”
Case encourages those who be-
lieve they may have colon cancer to
be advocates for themselves.
“I was told many times that it was
all in my head,” she says. “But you
know your own body better than
anyone. Someone is going to hear
you. Don’t give up.”