A cancer diagnosis is nothing short of life-changing, but for a Fort Worth man, having the power to know he’s still cancer free Is just as meaningful as beating his cancer a year ago. Health reporter Bianca Castro has the story.
A cancer diagnosis is nothing short of life-changing but for a Keller man, having the power to know he's still cancer free is just as meaningful as beating his cancer a year ago.
37-year-old Adam Roberts was two weeks from expecting the birth of his daughter when doctors diagnosed him with stage 4 colorectal cancer.
Roberts had a family history of prostate and breast cancer but wasn’t expecting colorectal cancer, particularly at such a young age and despite his healthy, active lifestyle.
"I had some issues, going to the bathroom issues," said Roberts. "I thought it was a more fiber, more hydration, more exercise, let's just check off all the boxes that are obvious. When I had my colonoscopy to hear the news, it was, it was shocking."
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Unfortunately, doctors say they're seeing more younger people, under the age of 50 develop colorectal cancer, now the second most common cancer in adults.
Mostly, it's tied to factors like obesity, a poor diet or sedentary lifestyles, but some people, like Roberts, have no obvious risk factors.
"There are some genetic things that happen in patients that lead to a younger age and diagnosis. We have patients in their late 30s, early 40s, mid-40s, who get diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer. Adam certainly was in that group of people who is young and healthy and active, but still did develop a fairly advanced rectal cancer," said colorectal surgeon Dr. Farshid Araghizadeh.
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The good news, according to Dr. Araghizadeh, treatments have come a long way. Prognoses are good when caught early and a new blood test now offers peace of mind.
The Signatera blood test is personalized to each patient's set of tumor mutations and can identify earlier than traditional tools if cancer is still present.
It can also identify whether a patient's cancer is returning.
"By regularly monitoring this test, we can see whether the tumor is coming back or not. If so, we can catch it a lot earlier and have a meaningful impact on the patient's survival by further treatment or surgery," said Araghizadeh, who's been offering the test to his patients for about two years.
After surgery and six months of chemotherapy, Roberts beat his cancer but has since used the Signatera blood tests every three months to make sure the cancer hasn't returned.
He says the tests are not covered by his health insurance, but even at $7,900 a test, it's well worth the cost for peace of mind.
"It amplifies my hope. Everybody has hope to some degree, and you know, whatever you believe in, but it puts a really solid scientific foundation behind what's going on inside your body. So for me, it just really is the cherry on top from a peace of mind perspective," said Roberts.
The blood test can be used for the majority of solid tumor cancers and is currently being widely used in Texas and across the country.
