NY1 Anchor Roma Torre has taken a
leave of absence from the news channel after being diagnosed with colon
cancer. Health Reporter Erin Billups spoke to Roma about her condition
and her message to NY1 viewers.
NY1's Roma Torre was
diagnosed with colon cancer at the end of July, and since then she's had
a CAT scan and an MRI to determine whether the cancer has spread past
her colon – which, thankfully, it has not. Those of us who know Roma
know her as a very private person, despite her work every day in the
public eye. But she felt it was important to use her experience to
educate others.
"I have no family history, I work out every day, I
eat really good foods that I know are colon friendly, and I wasn't
feeling anything wrong – and it shocked the hell out of me," Roma says
of the diagnosis. "But is there anything I could have done to prevent
this?"
Roma's doctor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Colorectal
Surgeon Martin Weiser, says no – there was nothing she did to cause the
malignant tumor to form in her colon.
"It's just, genetic changes occur in the cells and you develop cancer and it's a bit of bad luck," Weiser says.
And that's the case with most colon cancer patients.
"There
aren't a lot of signs and symptoms for colorectal cancer," says Weiser.
"The majority of patients have none. So screening can actually find
polyps before they turn into cancer and remove them."
These polyps usually start showing up in the colon at around age 50, which is when screenings are recommended.
"I did hit 50, years ago, and I kept putting it off," Roma says.
"Probably,
we think that if we may have had it earlier, we may have been able to
catch it before it turned into a cancer," says Weiser.
Still, the
doctor says Roma's prognosis is good. In a minimally invasive procedure
using laparoscopy and robotics, Weiser will remove the cancerous section
of her colon.
"There's a very good chance of cure," he says.
"So for instance, if we find out that it's a stage two, I would say the
chance of her being free of disease at five years is more than 80
percent. If there are involved lymph nodes, then the chance of her being
free of disease at five years is probably 70-75 percent."
"Still,
I'm thinking, 'Oh, am I in that 30 percent range,' you know? Ugh," Roma
says. "Obviously we all think the worst when we're presented with such
bad news, but I am very hopeful."
To this point Roma has kept
her condition to herself, not wanting to be defined by the disease. But
she says she's sharing her story now as a cautionary tale.
"I've
been suffering so with the knowledge that I'm dealing with a
potentially terminal illness, and what it's done to my family, too, has
really been very stressful obviously," she says. "So if there's any good
to come out of this diagnosis and this experience that I have been
agonizing over, it's that I'm in a position to share my story with
people and encourage as many people as I can to get that colonoscopy,
get screened."
To prepare for her colonoscopy, Roma had to take
off from work, prepping the day before by drinking laxatives and
enduring a liquid-only diet. But she's glad she dealt with the slight
inconvenience when she did.
"It should be imperative, don't you
think?" she says. "I mean, considering my situation where I had no
warning signs and no red flags, and look at me – I'm going through all
of this right now. But if I hadn't done it..."
Weiser answers that
question. "It would have eventually grown to cause symptoms, such as
bleeding, or something else," he says. "And then it probably would have
been more advanced stage."
Weiser says Roma is facing either
stage two or three colon cancer, which will be revealed after surgery.
She'll go into surgery this Thursday and, depending on the stage, she
may have to undergo chemotherapy.
All of us here at NY1 are rooting for her.
Roma's Message to NY1 Viewers
For years I was under the delusion that just because I have no family history of colon cancer; I eat healthy foods; I don't smoke; I exercise regularly, and have no symptoms, I could safely assume I would remain healthy and cancer free. Obviously I was wrong. And in fact, as I have come to discover, most cases are very much like mine. The majority of patients with colorectal cancer have no genetic history and are symptom free. There really is no way to detect colon cancer in most people without a colonoscopy which is generally recommended at age 50. I foolishly waited too long. So, I urge anyone who's procrastinating, as I did, to get screened. Nothing would make me happier than to hear someone say "After hearing your story, I finally made an appointment to get checked."