‘Total shock’: Woman gets tested after exhaustion, finds signs of cancer

CHARLOTTE — In November of 2023, Amy Reiss noticed something was wrong – she was exhausted, and she thought she was depressed.

“Not the typical symptoms that you hear about,” Reiss, 49, said.

What she didn’t know was that her body was warning her of something much more serious.

“The doctor said you have cancer,” Reiss said. “Total shock was really the response that I had.”

After a colonoscopy, doctors found a large tumor. She was diagnosed with Stage 3C rectal cancer. Even with a family history, Reiss says she never thought this would happen to her.

“My mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. She was 65 when she was diagnosed,” Reiss said. “It was Lynch Syndrome, which is a genetic condition, so I sort of felt it was a freak thing that happened to her because she was a little bit older.”

What followed was a grueling journey through chemotherapy, radiation, and multiple surgeries.

“You’re scared about dying all the time and you’re looking at the effect it has on your family and your loved ones,” Reiss said. “I felt a lot of guilt coupled with a lot of fear and just trying to keep up a lot of hope and optimism at the same time.”

Dr. Michael Dobson, colorectal surgeon at Novant Health, says she faced every step of the process head-on.

“I’ve got to say she is a tough woman. She has been through a tremendous amount of treatment,” Dobson said.

Reiss is now cancer-free, and she has a message for others.

“What I went through was a million times worse than the prep for a colonoscopy, and I thought to myself if I had done it a couple of years earlier, I wouldn’t have been in this situation,” she said.

“If we can identify it before it ever turns into a cancer, that’s a win for everybody and that’s what we’re aiming for ... and the purpose of screening to try to prevent colorectal cancer,” Dobson said.

Doctors say early screening can save lives. Doctors say colorectal cancer is now one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in people under 55.

The American Cancer Society recommends that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45.

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