WASHINGTON — WTOP Morning Editor Mike Jakaitis is a survivor. He faced colon cancer and won.
“Feeling good! Can’t believe I am eight years cancer free,” he says with a big grin.
Smiling comes easily to Jakaitis, who stresses that family, good medical care and a colonoscopy saved his life. Years after the surgery that removed a portion of his diseased colon, he is happy to be alive.
His doctors told him if the cancer had been detected six months later at a more advanced stage, he probably wouldn’t have made it.
“I am lucky because my cancer was caught early. Unfortunately a lot of people aren’t as lucky,” he says.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says roughly 50,000 Americans die from colorectal cancer each year. It’s the second most deadly cancer — right behind lung cancer — and it affects slightly more men than women.
“The best way to prevent it is really to undergo screening,” says Dr. Aline Charabaty, a gastroenterologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
She says there are several options, including stool tests and CT scans. But the gold standard remains the colonoscopy.
“The colonoscopy is the only screening procedure that can detect and remove pre-cancerous polyps in one exam,” says Charabaty.
A colonoscopy will not only find, but prevent cancer by removing those polyps. All the same, it can be a tough sell. Some patients are squeamish about the procedure — especially the prep, and the anesthesia. A new at-home stool test called Cologuard, that detects abnormal DNA in cancer cells, was recently cleared by the FDA and has created a lot of buzz in the medical community, but Charabaty says it is not very good at detecting pre-cancerous cells.
The American Cancer Society recommends a colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50 for most of us. Those at increased risk — including patients with a strong family history of colon cancer — often begin much earlier.
But a lot of people who come down with the disease had no risk factors at all. And while the average person with colon cancer is well over 50, some — like Jakaitis — are in their 30s when it is first detected.
Charabaty says that is why it is so important for younger adults to be aware of the warning signs and check out any unusual gastroenterological symptoms, including abdominal pain and blood in the stool.
Jakaitis says he is thankful for his wife Kellie, who tricked him into seeing a doctor when his symptoms first appeared.
On Sunday, March 22, the two of them — along with their dog Barkley — will lead Team WTOP at the annual Scope It Out 5k Run/Walk to benefit colon cancer awareness.
If you would like to run with Jakaitis, you can sign up online. Those who prefer to show their support with a donation can visit this website, and search for “Team WTOP.”
