Survivor Story: Kristin Dominique

My name is Kristen and I am a Sales Account Executive for a large healthcare revenue cycle management company. I’m a married mother of two amazing, extremely active kids, one teenager and one pre-teen. I come from large family (youngest of 8), most of who are local.

My father has had a few polyps, although it was later in life. No colon cancer in my family anywhere, although sister is a breast cancer survivor. Father is also a prostate cancer survivor.

Prior to diagnosis I had no major symptoms, just a nagging stomachache the few days prior to diagnosis that wouldn’t subside. It felt like gas pains that wouldn’t go away, no matter what I tried.

I was initially admitted into the hospital via an ER visit after performing ultra sound and abdominal CT scan. They did a biopsy on a spot on my liver, which determined metastatic cancer. They assumed it came from the colon, which was enflamed on CT. They proceeded to do a colonoscopy, which confirmed a tumor in my colon.

I was devastated when I got the call – “it’s cancer”. I heard NOTHING after that. I was 38 years old – I loved my job, loved my lifestyle, loved my life. I had no idea what was happening, and I had just been given what I thought was a death sentence. It wasn’t until I met with both my amazing surgeon and oncologist that I knew I could fight this and come out a winner – a survivor.

I had two surgeries (Toledo Hospital, Karmanos Cancer Institute) hemi-colectomy to remove 18″ of cancer in colon and follow up liver resection surgery to remove liver tumor. I received drug therapy at Toledo Clinic Cancer Centers. Chemo treatment to shrink liver tumor and additional rounds of chemo as preventative

The BEST thing I had through it all was an incredible support network. I had family, friends, neighbors, and even casual acquaintances, who were behind me every step of the way and I knew that I could win my battle. In April it will be two years since I was diagnosed and I am cancer-free today!

There was emotional strain for my husband and kids throughout diagnosis and treatment. It was hard to keep up with my busy kids (sporting events, school events, etc), but had strong family backing me and helping

Now I have a new perspective on what is important in life! I’m very much in-tune with my body now. I don’t ignore anything that seems “different” or not normal, and try to instill that on everyone around me.

Something I would recommend to others would be to stay away from the Internet – I made the mistake of “googling” my diagnosis within hours of getting diagnosed, and I was convinced I wasn’t gong to survive, which was WRONG.

Stay strong, and stay positive, no matter what. I am convinced that having a positive attitude really got me through; regardless of the numerous setbacks I had following surgery. Listen to your body, and listen to your doctors…and if you don’t like what they have to tell you, it is your right to get another opinion. Accept all support from anyone around you – they can take the mental, physical, and emotional burden off when you’re not up for it.