From Diagnosis to Advocacy: Turning Survival into Purpose
My name is JJ Singleton I’m from a small town called Canton in Western North Carolina near Asheville, I was diagnosed with Colorectal cancer in September of 2015 at the age of 27.
Leading up to diagnosis I was a typical male ignoring symptoms like bowel habits and blood in my stool and pain. Until my mom made me go to the doctor by that time you could physically see the tumor throbbing in my abdomen.
A colonoscopy proved I had stage 2 colorectal cancer, and in 6 days, I was in surgery to get the tumor removed. I started chemotherapy a few weeks later. I was supposed to just have 12 rounds and hopefully be cancer-free. I completed those, and 6 weeks later, the cancer was back and spread to my abdominal wall and lymph nodes throughout my body. From here on, I was classified as stage 4 terminal incurable.
After many failed lines of treatment, my only option left was a clinical trial, and thankfully, that saved my life. I’m still on active treatment, 179 infusion rounds later, 10 surgeries, and almost 100 combined days in the hospital. My cancer is stable, and now I’m able to live a new normal kind of life.
I started sharing my life experience and story around 2020, and found advocacy by accident, but it changed my life. I’ve found amazing friends and a purpose now in my life as I continue to live with incurable cancer.