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| Hearing from a Patient Ambassador |
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| Dan’s Story, Dan C. |
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A sergeant in the police force and father of four, Dan always considered himself to be in good health. But in 2010 when he attempted to train for a local bike race, one that he had easily completed the year before, he found his energy levels weren't the same. After a series of tests his medical team discovered that Dan was bleeding internally. Dan will never forget what his doctor told him when he entered the exam room. He said, "This could be something as small as an ulcer or something very serious." Following this visit, his physician scheduled Dan to meet with the gastrointestinal doctor, but he believed it was most likely an ulcer, because otherwise Dan felt fine. After his endoscopy came back clear they set up a colonoscopy for the following day and this is when the doctor discovered cancer in Dan's ascending colon.
"Being diagnosed with colon cancer was an absolute kick in the stomach, but I was relieved to learn that the cancer had not spread to my liver." After an operation to remove Dan's tumor, his surgeon, Dr. Ian Lavery at the Cleveland Clinic described how the Oncotype DX colon cancer test could be used to determine his risk of recurrence, based on the underlying biology of his individual colon tumor. Dan was impressed that the Oncotype DX test could measure the aggressiveness of his individual disease and when his test result came back low, he and his physician had the confidence to decide to forgo chemotherapy. Dan's entire family was elated, and he was able to return to his life as a policeman, dad and husband. "Having cancer gave me a new perspective on life and I'm ready to live it to the fullest." |
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| About Genomic Health’s Ambassador Program |
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| How to get involved! |
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| Genomic Health is proud to work with a passionate group of volunteer patient “ambassadors”, to help spread the word about personalized colon cancer treatment & genomic tests. The ambassador program is set up to engage participants in various ways, and to meet the comfort level of each ambassador. From visiting with local colon cancer support groups to sharing their treatment stories with the media, there are many ways Genomic Health and their ambassadors work together to help educate newly diagnosed patients. Ambassadors are also invited to visit the Genomic Health campus, and tour the labs where the Oncotype DX test is run. If you have a patient who may be interested in participating in this program, please send an email to: advocacy@genomichealth.com. |
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