David Thacker

Hello everyone! My name is David Thacker. Back in November I began having severe stomach pain and the pain got so bad that I had to go to the emergency room at Northside Hospital in Atlanta.  I was admitted and after several tests it was determined that I had a lower bowl obstruction. I have struggled with many of the symptoms of Crohn's disease since I was 13 years old, but never experienced an obstruction. After 5 days of antibiotics, steroids, and my personal favorite, "The NG Tube" there was not much improvement in my situation. My options at that point were to either go home and wait, or to go ahead and take care of the problem surgically. After discussions with my doctors and surgeon, and praying for wisdom, my family and I decided that instead of playing the waiting game, with the real possibility of a bowel perforation that can be life threatening, we would go ahead and head off that problem and I would go in for surgery to remove the obstruction. 

During the surgery for a colon resection, my doctor, whom I would recommend for ANYONE in need of an excellent colorectal surgeon, found a few things that convinced her to change the parameters of the surgery. She performed the surgical procedures for creating  safety margins for removing a cancerous tumor from a patient's body. She took a look at my other organs to assess their condition and finished the surgery in a way that would set me up for best case if her suspicions of cancer were correct and I needed chemotherapy. 
     After 4 days of recovering from surgery, as I was preparing to leave the hospital, the pathology report came back. The obstruction was partially scar tissue from the constant inflammation of Crohn's, but also a malignant tumor. They were also able to determine that the cancer cells had made it through my colon wall and were in several lymph nodes. So I have Stage 3 Colon Cancer. 
 
I would like to thank all of you for the outpouring of support that you have given me and my family. With God and all of your prayers and support I know I will have the strength to fight this!