A Life Saved by Early Detection: Julianne's Journey With Colon Cancer

Julianne Gaughan felt perfectly fine when she saw her primary care doctor for a routine checkup. In fact, she almost left without mentioning one seemingly small thing: She had noticed a little blood in her stool.

Fortunately, Julianne decided to mention it near the end of her visit. Her doctor recommended a colonoscopy, just to be safe. The test found colon cancer. Later, surgery to remove the tumor showed it had likely been growing undetected for about two years.

"Early screening saved my life," Julianne said. "I was only 46 at the time. If I'd waited until I was 50 [which was the standard then], the tumor might have grown through the colon wall. As my surgeon said, that would not have been good."

A stage 1 cancer diagnosis

Julianne hesitated about having the colonoscopy. She felt healthy and had heard the preparation could be unpleasant. So, as the appointment got closer, she canceled it.

But something made Julianne reconsider, and she rescheduled the appointment. The test showed she had a cancerous growth in her colon, and an MRI scan determined it was stage 1 cancer.

"The goal with screening is to identify precancerous lesions and cancers at the earliest possible stage," explained Julianne's gastrointestinal oncologist, Aparna Parikh, MD. "We know that the earlier you catch colon cancer, the more likely you are to have better outcomes. And in this case, we clearly caught it at a curative stage."

Dr. Parikh partnered closely with colorectal surgeon David Berger, MD, and others at Mass General Cancer Center to determine the best treatment plan for Julianne. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor, followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy and four weeks of combined chemotherapy and radiation therapy (chemoradiation).

Surgery reveals cancer in lymph node

During the surgery, Dr. Berger discovered the cancer had spread to one lymph node outside of Julianne's colon. He removed about half of the colon, along with nearby tissue and lymph nodes.

This finding changed Julianne's diagnosis from stage 1 to stage 3 colon cancer. Though this didn't alter her treatment plan, it was difficult news for Julianne to process after surgery.

"I was a single parent with a 10-year-old son at home," she said. "You just have to put on your coat of armor and get ready for battle. And that's what I did. I trusted my doctors, and I was going to do whatever they asked."

Her first task was to heal from the surgery and prepare her body for chemotherapy. She saw a nutritionist outside of Mass General Brigham for guidance on eating well to support her recovery. But it was a difficult stretch for her with a great deal of pain and fatigue.

Navigating an emotional loss

Five weeks after surgery, Julianne had a port put in. This is a device that delivers chemotherapy directly into the bloodstream. Two weeks later, she began her first round of chemotherapy at Mass General Cancer Center under the careful watch of Dr. Parikh.

"I really admire Dr. Parikh's compassion, positivity, and honesty," Julianne said. "She always made herself available. She made it much easier to deal with the 'undealable.'"

Infusion nurses Janine Clarke, RN, and Tracey Rennie, RN, also helped Julianne make it through her chemotherapy sessions, which generally took place two weeks apart.

"All of the nurses were angels," Julianne said. "One time, one of them sat with me out of the blue, held my hand, and began praying with me. The people who come into your life when you're going through trauma—it's so divine in my eyes."

The two months of chemotherapy took a toll on Julianne, who struggled with weight loss and nausea. Dr. Parikh adjusted her medications along the way to address these and other side effects.

One side effect that Julianne couldn't avoid was hair loss. When her hair started falling out in large clumps, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

"I'd lost more hair than I'd expected, so I chose to get it cut very short," she recalled. "That was tough. But once I was over the initial shock, I was ready to move on."

 

Entering the final phase of treatment

After each round of chemotherapy, Julianne went home with a bag of medication attached to her port. She wore the bag around the clock for one week and then had a week off before the next round started.

As chemotherapy continued, Julianne tried to put on a brave face—especially around her son, Ayden.

"I was upfront with him about what I was going through, and I always stressed that I was going to be okay," she said. "But I didn't let him see me when I was rolled up in a ball crying at night. I tried to protect him from that. You've got so much to fight for when you've got a child, and that helped keep me going."

Ahead of chemoradiation, Julianne focused on her nutrition and gaining back weight. During this phase, she received small daily doses of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for 28 days. Radiation oncologist Jennifer Wo, MD, oversaw her radiation treatments.

"She and Dr. Parikh were my biggest cheerleaders," Julianne said. "They told me it was going to be tough but that I could do it. They show such compassion and overwhelming empathy for people they don't even know."

In the meantime, Julianne was fitted with a wig at a local salon that specializes in creating human hair wigs for people with cancer. She named the wig Grace. "Because I felt like I had God's grace every day," she said.

An advocate for early screening

Following the completion of chemoradiation, Julianne's imaging scans and blood work showed no signs of cancer. Over the next five years, further tests confirmed she was cancer-free. At the five-year mark, she reached remission. She will continue to check in with Drs. Parikh and Wo once a year until the 10-year mark.

Julianne's body has slowly adjusted to having only half of a colon. As before the surgery, she eats well (all-organic diet, no red meat) and maintains an active fitness routine. She also advocates for colon cancer screening, especially for younger people. "They need to do it, because their lives may depend on it," she said.

In retrospect, Julianne had been a good candidate for early cancer screening all along. Her grandmother had had colon cancer, and other family members had had colon polyps (small growths that can develop into colon cancer over time). As Dr. Parikh noted, even a family history of polyps without a cancer diagnosis increases one's risk of colon cancer.

Dr. Parikh stressed that colonoscopy is the gold standard for colon cancer screening. However, she added that there are still other reliable and less invasive ways to get screened and encouraged patients to discuss alternative options with their gastroenterologist.

Reflecting on her journey, Julianne expressed gratitude for her return to good health—and for her care team who helped make it possible.

"I can't say enough about the people at Mass General Cancer Center. They treat you with love, care, dignity, and respect, and you're not just a number to them," she said. "I understand why people fly in from all over the world to receive care there."

Originally published on Mass General Brigham on March 27, 2025.