Blog 5: I Rang the Bell. Then Everything Changed Again.

February 2, 2024.

I rang that bell.

If you've been through cancer treatment, you know what ringing the bell means. It means you survived. It means you fought through 12 rounds of chemotherapy over six months and you came out the other side. It means you got to stand in that treatment center, pull that rope, and hear that sound echo through the room like it was made just for you.

I was so excited. I was done. I was free. I was cancer-free.

In April 2024, I had my ileostomy and colostomy reversed. Open surgery — a laparotomy. I had my port removed at the same time. My body had been through so much, and this felt like the first real step toward reclaiming it.

The Follow-Up That Should Have Been Different.

Then I had my first post-treatment follow-up in July. No CT scan. The doctor told me I was doing fine and sent me on my way.

My December follow-up: still no CT scan. They did a CEA blood test. My level came back at 6.6. When I looked it up online, something about that number unsettled me — an elevated CEA can be an indicator of cancer activity. But my oncologist wasn't concerned. He didn't even bring it up.

So I told myself: he's the doctor. If he's not worried, I shouldn't be.

I trusted him. I waited. I tried to live normally.

What I Didn't Know.

What I didn't know then — what I later discovered — was that after colorectal cancer treatment, the standard of care is CT scans and CEA checks every three months. Every. Three. Months.

I wasn't getting that.

My first CEA test wasn't until December 2024. More than 10 months after I rang that bell.

My first CT scan after treatment wasn't until July 2025. More than a year after I rang that bell.

To every cancer patient reading this regardless of what type of cancer you have fought: ask about your surveillance plan. Ask specifically what tests you should be getting and how often. Get the plan in writing. Because I trusted the silence, and that trust cost me.

What they found on that scan would change everything.

—Von Unfiltered

Stage 3 (2023) · Remission (2024) · Stage 4 (2025) · Remission (2026)