MCI Snippets: Colon cancer survivor Lee Ann Brewer urges others to be proactive and listen to their bodies

In 2016, Lee Ann Brewer began experiencing a concerning amount of upper abdominal pain. At 42 years old, Brewer was still too young to receive yearly colonoscopy screenings, but as an oncology nurse, Brewer recognized that her symptoms were prevalent enough for her to begin searching for their source.

During the process, Brewer discovered she was anemic, a significant abnormality that prompted her to see a gastroenterologist to look even further into the issue. A colonoscopy yielded shocking results: an aggressive, fist-sized cancerous tumor. Brewer was diagnosed with stage 2B colon cancer.

The news was devastating, but there were silver linings working in Brewer’s favor, including one invaluable advantage: Her doctor was her coworker.

At the time of her diagnosis, Brewer had been working for USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute for about 10 years and knew medical oncologists such as Daniel Cameron, M.D. When Brewer sought treatment for her cancer, there was no question as to where she would receive it.

“I trusted Dr. Cameron with my life,” she said. “He is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. I never would have thought of going anywhere else for treatment.”

Despite her experience working with other oncology patients, assuming that role herself was daunting for Brewer. Still, she remained confident in the capabilities of her coworkers to give her the most thorough and effective treatment possible.

“I knew what to expect treatment-wise, but you never know what it’s going to be like until you’re sitting in that chair as a patient,” she said. “It was a very different experience, to say the least, but my coworkers were amazing through it all. These are people that I consider family and who I spend all day with, so they took great care of me.”

After surgery to remove the right side of her colon, then six months of chemotherapy treatments, Brewer was declared cancer-free.

Since seeking treatment, Brewer has not experienced further complications or symptoms, and she attributes that to the early detection of her cancer. While less aggressive tumors may not make themselves so apparent in early stages, Brewer advises patients to be vigilant for any unusual symptoms that they may be experiencing, including abdominal pain, excessive fatigue and abnormalities in stools.

“I’m so glad I paid attention to weird things going on with my body,” she said. “Working here for as long as I have, you see people come in with cancers that could have been avoided because they didn’t seek answers to problems they were having. Pay attention to your body, and be proactive with your health.”

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and this year Brewer participated in the festivities with her coworkers at the MCI in Fairhope. Back when she was receiving chemotherapy, her coworkers showed their support for her by wearing blue shirts (the color representing colon cancer awareness) on Brewer’s chemotherapy treatment days, even giving Brewer and her husband shirts to help raise their spirits. This March, Brewer and her team wore the shirts to mark her own personal experience with colon cancer and the encouragement that she received from her fellow nurses.

Brewer says instances like these are testaments of the staff’s kindness and support. “I’m so blessed. I don’t think I could have done it without all of my coworkers,” she said.