Video Link: https://cancerpathnotes.weebly.com/blog/video-powwow-colon-cancer-initiative-with-robert-desjarlait?fbclid=IwAR1DONu07iXXcaNHD8rgWlWYySSkK2EPxTsfNlUcRCef_jEPF8HcIngQ4u4 The Powwow Colon Cancer Initiative was a special project sponsored by the American Indian Cancer Foundation with a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health. I was asked to be the spokesperson for the project. From April to June 2018, we attended six powwows - the Osseo Indian Education Powwow, Augsburg Powwow, University of Minnesota Powwow, Leech Lake Memorial Day Powwow, White Earth Annual Powwow, and the Lake Vermilion Powwow.
The powwows gave me the opportunity to talk about my survivor story and to provide information on colon cancer. The most important message was, and is, that colon cancer is preventable. Cancer is a word that is a stigma for some people – Native and non-Native alike. Some people feel that it shouldn’t be spoken. By not saying it, the thinking goes that you won’t get it. But by not talking about it, we deny its existence. Denial can be deadly because denial can prevent a person to seek screening. Denial allows for cancer cells to grow and multiply and advance from a treatable Stage I cancer to a deadly Stage IV cancer. In my initial contraction of colon cancer in 2013, a tumor was found and my ascending colon was removed. It was classified as Stage I because the cancer hadn’t broken through the walls of my colon. Survival rates for Stage I are great. However, in 2016, a cancerous lesion was found on the left lobe of my liver. The lobe was removed and I went through 16 rounds of chemotherapy. I have remained cancer-free for two years. Because of my recurrence, I am considered as a Stage IV survivor. In hindsight, all of this could have been avoided had I gone to my doctor for colon cancer screening at the recommended age. But because I didn’t, a pre-cancerous polyp developed into a adenocarcinoma (cancerous) polyp with mutated cells that multiplied into large tumor. It takes 7-10 years for a pre-cancerous polyp to develop into cancer. Had I gone in for screening, I wouldn’t be writing this nor appear in a video. Had I gone in for screening, I wouldn’t be dealing with post-chemo after-effects, effects that can potentially linger for many years. The Powwow Initiative video marks an important place on my cancer journey. Since 2013, I’ve served in the role of a cancer advocate in the Native American community. The video is a visual representation of the message that I carry. It’s a simple message but one that can save lives. Please share my message with others. Together, we can help prevent this second cause of cancer death among Native people. Miigwech to videographer Tiana LaPointe, Kristine Sorensen and In Progress, the American Indian Cancer Foundation, and the Minnesota Department of Health.
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June 2021
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